The history of Rieti?s foundation is traceable up to the beginning of the Iron Age. Rieti is more ancient than Rome and its name Rieti derives from Rea, which means the mother of all gods. Rieti represented the most important centre of ramification in the colonization process realized by the Sabine people starting from the 8th century b.C. As Rieti was subjugated by Rome together with other Sabine populations, in 290 b.C. its history mixed with that of Rome. But the ties between Sabina and Roman people is even more ancient and legendary. Indeed, during the fourth year after the foundation of Urbe, Romolo, while trying to find wives for his men, organised the sadly famous rape of the Sabine women. The consul Manio Curio Dentato, the author of the Roman victory, ordered the first important reclamation of the Rieti Plain, which was largely covered by waters of Lacus Velinus, excavating an outlet in the mountain of Marmore in the Umbrian territory.
Since then thousands of cubic metres of water have formed the highest and most famous cascade in Europe. Also the contrasts with the nearby-located Terni?s population date back to that period. With the extension of suffrage to Sabina and Rieti in 268 b.C. the city started to participate in the Roman events. Rieti was a birthplace of several famous men of the republic, like Marco Terenzio Varrone, ?the father of the roman erudition?. His output was grandiose: 74 pieces of work in 620 books. At present only three books of ?de re rustica? and six books of ?De lingua Latina? are conserved. His aim was to put in order and embrace the knowledge of the world adapting it to the needs of the society and the latin tradition. Other remarkable people of the republican period were orator Lucio Ottavio and general Publio Vitinio. During the empire, Gens Flavia, native in Rieti, occupied important political positions until he was raised to the imperial throne together with Vespasiano and later with sons Tito and Domiziano (the construction of the Colosseum was started by Vespasiano in 72 a.C. and completed by Tito in 81 a.C.).
The Sabine people with austere traditions accepted the Christian religion with open arms. San Prosdocimo was the one who founded the church of Rieti and made an intense propaganda in order to try to get people closer to the new faith. And very soon Rieti had its first martyrs, the priest Marone and Vittorio di Cotilia: later on Eleuterio and his mother Anzia. But the most famous martyr was Santa Barbara da Nicomedia who died in Scandriglia in 288 and whose relics are preserved inside the high altar in the cathedral of Rieti to her consecrated in 1806. In 584 Rieti was occupied by the Longobards and that way became a part of the duchy of Spoleto. The new administration carried out important administrational and political tasks that crossed the borders of the Rieti territory. With the reconstruction of the Roman Empire the Duce of Spoleto and consequently also the people of Rieti swore allegiance to Carlo Magno. In 773 the emperor Franco, who rushed to Adriano I?s help to contrast Desiderio, the king of the Longobards, handed over the dominion of Rieti and Sabina to the pope. Later on the duchy of Spoleto together with other cities passed under the subjection of Carlo Magno, but in 781, apart from the territory of Rieti, returned under the pope?s dominion.
The violent Saracen incursions that at the end of the 9th century attacked Rieti and the entire Sabine territory were definitely defeated by Rieti people, led by Archiprando in 916. As the Norman power increased in the Southern Italy, Rieti was besieged by the troups of Ruggero II of Sicily that between 1149 and 1151 destroyed the area forcing it that way to surrender. The reconstruction of the city was started immediately and it was completed in 1157 with the consacretion of the crypt of the cathedral, designed by the bishop Dodone. Already in 1178 Rieti was a free Municipality, being priviledged by Federico I. In 1185 his son Enrico VI celebrated the wedding ?per legatos?, being the absent spouse with the heiress of the Sicilian kingdom, Costanza di Altavilla, in the bishop?s palace in Rieti. Rieti together with other cities of the duchy of Spoleto was put under the protection of pope Innocenzo III and during these years the name of the podestà, the highest municipal office, of which government could be carried out despite the pope?s authority, appeared for the first time. In 1239 wars and lootings devastated the city again. In the confrontation between the pontificate and german emperor people of Rieti always lined up with the Guelph party and when Federico II died, pope Innocenzo IV started to reconstruct and enrich the city. The 200?s was a fundamental period for Rieti?s expansion with the construction of several public and religious buildings and with the reconstruction of the walls.
In 1321 Iacopo Sciarra Colonna, representing the imperial party, became the podestà and captain of Rieti. While the Ghibellines greeted the future emperor Ludovico il Bavaro in Rome, in Rieti an anti-pope Pietro Rainaldo, also called Niccolò V, was elected.
After a short period of peace between two parties, pope Innocenzo VI entrusted Egidio di Albernoz, the bishop of Sabina, to bring back under the protection of papal authority all the states that had been pulled away from it. But in 1375 the bad government of rectors, appointed by the pope, forced Rieti to participate in a rebellion of cities against the church, even though they declared their loyalty to the pope. In 1377 the town government was entrusted to authoritative Cecco Alfani, whose family had managed to attain the pope?s benevolence.
Cecco?s son, Lodovico, was elected the bishop of Rieti and his other son Rinaldo controlled the fortress of Montecalvo for ten years.
But the power of the Alfani was not meant to last; the jealousy of other aristocratic families of Rieti area provoked the death of Lodovico, the injuring of his brother Giannandrea, the abbot of San Eleuterio, while Rinaldi barely managed to escape from the death. Pope Martino V removed Rinaldi to whom he had entrusted some time ago the first vicariate of Rieti, and that way freeing the city from the government of the Alfani, giving the control to a papal governor.
During the 15th and 16th century the city was busy with defending itself on two fields: from the inhabitants of Abruzzo because of a boundary issue and from those of Terni because of the quarry of Marmore.
The first controversy was resolved towards the end of the 500?s, while the other dispute almost became a real war between the two populations in consequence of continuous floodings of Valnerina provoked by the overflowing waters of the quarry. A temporary solution was found in 1546 and 1598 thanks to the interventions of the architects Antonio Sangallo and Giovanni Fontana, who led the works in order to excavate a new effluent.
After a peaceful period during which the city was dominated by a prelate Governor with less and less power, the French Revolution broke out.
During a short period of Roman republic in 1798 Rieti was considered as an Urban District included in the Department of Clitunno with the chief town Spoleto. Next year the city was attacked and looted by the troups of Salomone in the name of Ferninando IV di Borbone, but Rieti people opposed great resistance. With the fall of the Roman republic and with the reinstatement of the papal government, Rieti was annexed to Sabina and became the seat of the governer-general. The second French invasion and the proclamation of the empire saw Rieti becoming a part of Tevere Department, with Rome as its capital and as the seat of Subprefecture.
In 1816 Pio VII reconstituted the province of Sabina, called Apostolic Delegation, with Rieti as the chief town. Besides several public offices also court of first instance was situated there. In 1824 Leone XII reunited Rieti with the Delegation of Spoleto, but in 1831 the city became a separate province again.
The movements of the Risorgimento took place in Colle di Lesta, near the urban centre with General Guglielmo Pepe?s troups against the Austrians of General Frimont. The latter ones wanted to re-establish the absolutism of Ferninando I. When the movements of Romagna started in 1831, Rieti confirmed its loyalty to tha pope resisting the attacks of the revolutionary groups led by General Sercognani. As a prize, Gregorio XVI returned to Rieti the dignity of being the chief town of the province, formerly taken away by Leone XII.
Capelletti, the governor of Rome (a native of Rieti) presented to the pope a commission of his fellow citizens, composed of the marquis Adriano Canali, Giacinto Mareri and Filippo Rosati.
The first independence war in 1848 had several supporters in Rieti.
Poet Angelo Maria Ricci was appointed to the High Council, established by Pio IX. Prince Lodovico Potenziani was elected to the Council of Deputies, while four patriots from Rieti area (Francesco Battistini, Giuseppe Maffei, Mario Simeoni and Ippolito Vincentini) became members of the roman Constituent. Giuseppe Garibaldi was hosted in town in the same year as the Roman republic was proclaimed. The ideals of freedom did not vanish with the republican defeat and were confirmed when Italian troups entered Rieti September 23rd in 1860. That date was not marked only by Rieti?s joining the Kingdom of Italy, but also by the end of its submission to the papal power. In 1861 the delegations of Perugia, Orvieto, Spoleto and Rieti were united in the Umbrian province. Perugia became the chief town of the province and Rieti was assigned to be the chief town of the district. But the people of Rieti knew this solution was only temporary.
In 1923 Rieti was incorporated into the province of Rome and thanks to the decree of January 2nd of 1927 it was declared the chief town of the province with the annexation of Cittaducale?s district. From the economic point of view the first steps to leave behind the age-old backwardness of the territory, were taken only during the first decades of the 20th century.
In 1903 an itinerant professorship was created in Rieti. It was directed by professor Nazareno Strampelli, a man with remarkable capacities and who was a gift to agriculture in the whole world.
As years went by a modern centre for experimentation and selection of wheat was created. It was a turning point in the production of cereals. The wheat ?Rieti? opened new horizons in the field of agricultural development: different types with high productivity and resistance to various environmental factories were created.
Also the cultivation of sugar beet increased after Emilio Maraini succeeded producing sugar on a national scale; something that no-one else had ever managed to do. That was how a bridge was created between the agricultural and industrial world. The latter practically didn?t exist and thanks to this effort it started to take its first steps. A sugar refinery was born in Rieti. It was the first one in Italy and is still recognizable along the homonymous street as an example of industrial archaeology. Another step towards the industrialization was taken in 1920?s with installation of a factory for manufacture of artificial silk, Supertessile. But only in the beginning of 1960?s an industrial estate was created. It belongs partly to the Municipality of Cittaducale and can employ thousands of people. |
