Rieti: Central Italy’s Most Overlooked City

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Rieti is one of those Italian cities that most visitors drive past without stopping. Sitting in the middle of Lazio, roughly two hours from Rome by car, it rarely appears on the standard tourist circuit. That is exactly what makes it worth your time. The city has a medieval core that is almost entirely intact, a river running straight through the historic centre, and links to Saint Francis of Assisi that draw a steady stream of pilgrims even today. If you want to see central Italy without the crowds, Rieti is a logical starting point.

The Velino River and the Roman Bridge

The Velino River is the defining feature of Rieti’s landscape. It cuts through the lower edge of the old town, its water a striking turquoise-green colour, particularly clear in the early morning. The river has shaped the city since ancient times — Roman engineers channelled it, medieval builders used its course to define the city walls, and today it provides a pleasant walking route along its banks.

At the point where the Via Cintia crosses the Velino, you can see the remains of the Roman bridge. Much of the original structure is still visible below the waterline and along the banks. The bridge dates to the Republican period, making it well over two thousand years old. It is not a reconstructed monument or a museum piece — it simply sits there, partially submerged, as the modern city carries on around it. The contrast between the ancient stonework and the coloured plaster of the buildings above is striking, and it makes for one of the more photogenic views in the whole of Lazio.

The river also feeds a broader water system. Heading south from Rieti, the Velino eventually drops over the Cascate delle Marmore — a series of waterfalls constructed by the Romans in 271 BC to drain the marshy Rieti plain. The falls are now inside Umbria and are technically one of the tallest artificial waterfalls in the world. They are an easy day trip from the city.

The Medieval Centre

The historic centre of Rieti is compact enough to walk in a morning. The main axis runs from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, where the covered market sits, up through narrow streets to the cathedral and the bishop’s palace. Almost everything of historical interest falls within a ten-minute walk of this route.

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta was begun in the twelfth century, though the building has been modified many times since. The Romanesque bell tower, dating to 1252, is the most distinctive element of the exterior. Inside, the crypt is worth visiting — it contains early medieval stonework and a calm, cool atmosphere that is a relief on a warm afternoon. Admission is free.

Next to the cathedral stands the Palazzo Vescovile, the bishop’s palace. The loggia facing the cathedral square was added in the thirteenth century and gives the building an elegant, open character. The palace has hosted several important councils of the Catholic Church, and Pope Honorius III spent time here in the early thirteenth century. The building is not always open to visitors, but the exterior and the square itself are well worth seeing.

The Church of San Francesco, a short walk away, was built in the mid-thirteenth century on the site where Saint Francis is said to have stayed during several of his visits to Rieti. The interior retains Gothic arches and some early fresco fragments, though the building has undergone significant restoration. The cloister attached to the church is quiet and largely overlooked by visitors.

Saint Francis of Assisi and the Rieti Valley

Rieti has a closer connection to Saint Francis than most people realise. Between 1223 and 1226, Francis spent considerable time in the area around the city, and four sanctuaries linked to his stays are scattered across the surrounding hills and valleys. Together they form a walking circuit known as the Cammino di Francesco nel Reatino.

The most significant is the Santuario di Fonte Colombo, about five kilometres from Rieti. This is where Francis dictated the definitive rule of the Franciscan order in 1223 — the document that would shape one of the most influential religious movements of the medieval world. The sanctuary sits on a wooded hillside and includes the cave where Francis is said to have fasted and prayed while composing the rule. The site is well-maintained, open to visitors, and genuinely moving even for those without any particular religious interest.

The other three sanctuaries — Greccio, La Foresta, and Poggio Bustone — are spread across the valley and can be visited individually or as part of a longer walk. Poggio Bustone is where Francis is said to have received the assurance that his sins were forgiven, and Greccio is the site where, in 1223, he staged the first living nativity scene ever recorded. The walking routes between the sanctuaries pass through farmland and olive groves, with the Apennines visible in most directions.

The Geographic Centre of Italy

Rieti has a long-standing claim to being the geographic centre of Italy. A stone marker in the city, near the church of Sant’Agostino, commemorates this designation. The claim dates back to ancient Rome, when the city was known as Reate and was considered to sit at the heart of the Italian peninsula.

Whether or not the calculation holds up to modern GPS precision is a matter of debate — several other Italian municipalities have made similar claims — but the historical significance of the designation is real. Reate was an important Sabine city long before Roman expansion reached it, and the Romans themselves recognised its central position in the landscape. The area around the modern city still carries that sense of being at a crossroads, with roads leading north into Umbria, east into Abruzzo, and south towards Rome.

Lakes and Landscape

The Rieti plain is enclosed on most sides by mountains, giving the province a distinct character. Two large artificial lakes — Lago del Salto and Lago del Turano — sit in the hills to the east of the city and were created in the 1930s by the construction of hydroelectric dams. Both lakes are popular with Italian visitors for swimming, kayaking, and walking, but see very few foreign tourists.

Lago del Turano is perhaps the more dramatic of the two. The village of Castel di Tora perches on a promontory that juts into the lake, and the water level on either side of the narrow land bridge creates an unusual visual effect. The village has a small beach and a handful of restaurants. It is about forty minutes from Rieti by car.

Further east, the mountains of the Monti Sibillini and the Gran Sasso are within reach for day trips. The landscape shifts quickly from the flat, green Rieti valley to steep limestone peaks with ski lifts and rifugi. In summer, these mountains offer serious hiking; in winter, several small ski stations operate above the snowline.

Food and Drink

The cooking in Rieti is rooted in the central Italian tradition — simple ingredients, strong flavours, and a heavy reliance on lamb and pork. Coratella, a dish of lamb offal cooked with onions and sometimes artichokes, is a local staple. It is not for everyone, but in the right trattoria it is excellent. Pasta dishes tend towards thick, eggy formats — pappardelle with a wild boar sauce is common on menus in autumn and winter.

Local cheeses from the surrounding valleys are worth seeking out, particularly the aged pecorino made from sheep’s milk. The province also produces decent olive oil, and several agriturismo farms in the hills sell directly to visitors. The wine is less distinctive than that of other Lazio zones, but local whites made from Trebbiano grapes are perfectly drinkable with fish dishes.

For lunch, the covered market on Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II is a good reference point. Several small bars and snack counters inside the market serve sandwiches and simple hot food to a local crowd at lunch. Prices are considerably lower than in Rome, and the food is entirely without tourist polish — which is usually a reliable indicator that it is worth trying.

Getting There and When to Go

Rieti is about 80 kilometres north-east of Rome. By car, the A24 motorway and then the SS4 Via Salaria provide the most direct route, with the journey taking around ninety minutes in normal traffic. There is no train connection to Rieti from Rome — the rail link was closed — but COTRAL buses run from Tiburtina bus station in Rome and take around two hours. The bus is straightforward to use and reasonably priced.

Spring and early autumn are the most comfortable times to visit. The city sits at around 402 metres above sea level, which means summers are warm but not oppressive, and the valley stays green well into September. August is when many local businesses close for the annual holiday, so mid-September through October tends to offer the best combination of open restaurants, decent weather, and minimal crowds.

A single day is enough to see the main historic sites. Two days allows time for at least one or two of the Franciscan sanctuaries, and three days opens up the lakes and the wider landscape. Rieti works well as a base for exploring the northern tip of Lazio and the adjoining areas of Umbria and Abruzzo.

A City That Rewards Patience

Rieti will not compete with Florence or Rome for your attention. It does not try to. The city has a working, lived-in quality that is increasingly rare in Italian tourism — local bars where the customers are actually local, streets where the signage is in Italian only, and a general atmosphere of getting on with things rather than performing for visitors.

What it offers instead is access to a version of central Italy that has changed relatively slowly. The Roman bridge is still there. The medieval streets still follow their original lines. The Velino still runs turquoise through the middle of the city. For anyone who has spent time in the more visited parts of Italy and wants to understand what the country looks like when the tourist layer is stripped away, a stop in Rieti is worth making.

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