Driving trough the "Via Salaria", historical road of the salt for the ancient people, and fourth consoling Roman road, (a direction that is attributed to various motivations, but prevails the hypothesis, that have been realized along the course of the Tevere river,(Tiber) in order to resupply the Sabini,(the ancient people from Rieti) of the salt that the Roman produced in Ostia), introduces to the eyes of the traveller a landscape with heights from the profile a little sour and from the full of rocks surface and on the background, to its right, the mountains are succeeded by the Appennine that preannounce the entrance in the "CONCA REATINA", the Valley of Rieti. It is crossed from the river Velino and is studded from small lakes (Lungo, Ripasottile and Ventina) and the big artificial lakes Turano, Salto and Scandarello. Here is, Rieti, ancient Reate, geographic center of Italy, important even before of the Roman conquest (or, better of the unification between the Sabini and the Romans.).
In the small S.Rufo square, a tablet remembers in several languages that the city is: " UMBILICUS ITALIAE " of the Peninsula (The geographic center of the italian peninsula). Main town of the province that used to be called "Sabina", because it embraces for entire the territory inhabited by the Sabini. It endured the invasions of the Longobardi, the Saraceni and the Normanni, nevertheless the legendary Rape of the Sabine , legacy to the traditional "Ver Sacrum". The city introduces fair in its imposing town-walls, erected in year 1200, when Rieti, Common Guelf, constituted a sure shelter for the Pope, been involved in the fight against the imperial power. It was this, probably, the historical moment of greater splendor of the Reatina life, and they testify it important aristocratic structures and monuments collected in the historical center of Rieti.
It was property of the Papal State until the annexation to the Reign of Italy, later on to a glorious participation to the revival era events and was able, in spite of the overwhelming and the destruction, to reconstruct and to maintain saved much of the artistic patrimony, united to the force of will, to the laboriousiness, the morality and the moderation, characteristics inborn in the people Sabino. The thirteenth century town walls, that they encircle the Medieval Village are an alternation of semi-cylindrical towers and square with the open of the D'Arci Door and the Conca Door are opened on the side north, while to south, isolated is the Roman Door. The city is rich of reinassance constructions and extension drawn of the Roman fortifications, identifiable with the rests of the Roman bridge, under which it slides the bed of the river Velino.
2002 ©GiordaniProductions
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