A very ancient tradition maintains that Rieti is the center of Italy. It was the writer, Marco Terenzio Varrone (116 '27 B.C.) who mentioned that the Rieti Valley was the center of the peninsular.
Rieti is situated at the foot of Mount Terminillo, along the valley marked by the Velino River. Rieti had been first a Roman possession, later, Papal residence, and its historic center has an impressive and monumental XIIth century city wall enclosing it.
Walking through Rieti's streets and squares means to place oneself in history and art. City Hall building, in Vittorio Emanuele II Square, was originally built in the XIII century and rebuilt in the XVII century. The Cathedral, with its Romanesque bell tower and portico from 1458, has admirable works of art.
Noble palaces make the city center even more precious, as does the Vecchiarelli Palace, done by Carlo Maderno, and the Prefettura Palace, decorated with a splendid loggia from the Vignola school, overlooking the lower part of the historic city center.
One of the cultural symbols of the city is the Flavio Vespasian Theatre, a little acoustical jewel, the dome of which is fully painted depicting the triumphal entry of Vespasian and Tito after having conquered Jerusalem.
The streets of the center also host the remains of the Roman bridge, lying on the bed of the Velino River.
Symbol of the townspeople's history and life, this river's limpid waters and balanced ecosystem represent a true natural jewel in the heart of the city's residential area.
Source www.apt.ri.it |
