Visiting Italian seaside towns in winter

We stayed in Pesaro, south of Rimini, in October last year and to call it quiet would be an exaggeration. Some might use the word dead. We enjoyed a 5-star hotel, beachfront, for a bargain price, and day-tripped to Ravenna and Urbino. All-in-all we liked it. The weather was mild, the people were nice (not a lot of English spoken), and if we had had a car, we would have seen more of Le Marche. There was not much to see in Pesaro, more a place to be. I suspect Rimini is about the same in the winter.

We have been to Viareggio in early November. We were day-tripping from Lucca. Again, nice weather (by Oregon standards it was warm) and the beach deserted. Viareggio had a less elegant feel and we were only there for a few hours to see what it was like, but based on that visit, I would not stay there.

Both Viareggio and Rimini are big towns, so they won’t be totally dead like smaller seaside towns. Nevertheless they don’t have a lot to offer to a tourist in winter, other than some decent seafood restaurants and bars. But there isn’t much in terms of museums or relevant historic sights. Those were towns that largely developed after WW2 when mass beach tourism exploded during the after war economic revival fueled largely by reconstruction (thanks also to the Marshall plan).
I would look elsewhere for a day trip. Even San Marino.

Thanks for the responses. I'll take them under consideration.

If you like Jazz or music go checkout the 26th annual Umbria Winter Jazz Fest in Orvieto.
There are fireworks near the Duomo at midnight New Years Day.
There is usually an Afro-American gospel choir rockin mass in the Duomo on New Years Day,
It is a nice festival not crowded not much English (except the bands) hip international tourists

http://www.inorvieto.it/en/in_town/umbria_jazz_winter_25_in_orvieto_28_december_1_january.html

Thanks, Jazz! That sounds fantastic.