Attractions and Places To See around Monte San Giovanni In Sabina - Top 20

Grande Albergo Quattro Stagioni, Piazza Cesare, Rieti RI Quattro Stagioni, Piazza Cesare Battisti 14, Rieti RI The hotel is located in a restricted-traffic zone within the medieval walls that surround much of the city center, overlooking the Romanesque cathedral, in front of the magnificent Italian garden of Palazzo Vincentini, two minutes from Sabina Universitas and the shopping street, and in front of the elevator leading to the newly renovated Santa Lucia Cultural Center. The strategic location also allows visitors to walk to the center of Italy (Umbilicus Italiae, as Rieti's Marco Terenzio Varrone called it) in Piazza San Rufo, whose church houses a wonderful organ and a Guardian Angel by Caravaggio. Text / Source: Quattro Stagioni, Piazza Cesare Battisti 14, IT-02100 Rieti RI Internet: https://www.hotelquattrostagionirieti.com/

Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta, Rieti The Cathedral of Saint Mary, Mother of God The Cathedral of Rieti, dedicated to Santa Maria Madre di Dio and commonly known as the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was rebuilt on the foundations of the early Christian basilica, documented since the fifth century, between 1109 and 1225. The lower basilica, consecrated in 1157 and striking for its sober and composed forms, is divided into nine naves supported by columns made from the rubble of ancient Roman buildings, among which stands out a milestone of the consular salaria. The upper basilica, in which the architectural lines of the Romanesque plan have remained intact, demonstrates the radical changes resulting from the adaptation of liturgical norms and the change in tastes and styles. Of particular value is the decoration of the main portal, which interprets the motif of acanthus spirals, with clear classical assonance, reinterpreted in the Christian iconography of the Tree of Life. Text / Source: Official Tourist Portal of the City of Rieti https://www.visitrieti.com/2020/01/25/la-cattedrale-di-s-maria-madre-di-dio/

Umbilicus Italiæ - Centro d'Italia, Rieti / Geographical Center of Italy In Piazza San Rufo, Varronian tradition places the so-called Umbilicus Italiae, the geographical center of Italy, commemorated by a plaque. Piazza San Rufo is located amidst the imposing buildings of the historic center, which line the main streets Via Roma and Via Garibaldi. In the center of the square, a section of wall, a remnant of the Roman city's first city walls, can be seen beneath the pavement. The value of this area is commemorated by a plaque and a monument with a unique shape, located exactly in the center of the square and aptly called "la caciotta" (the caciotta) for its rounded and circular design. The work, created between the 1980s and 1990s following the city's twinning with the Georgian capital Tbilisi, appears to resemble the base of a column and features the design of the Italian peninsula on its surface, accompanied by the inscription "Umbilicus Italiae" (Umbilicus Italiae), which runs along half the circumference of the monument itself. Text / Source: Official Tourist Portal of the City of Rieti https://www.visitrieti.com/2020/01/25/rieti-umbilicus-italiae/

Quattro Stagioni, Piazza Cesare Battisti 14, Rieti RI The hotel is located in a restricted-traffic zone within the medieval walls that surround much of the city center, overlooking the Romanesque cathedral, in front of the magnificent Italian garden of Palazzo Vincentini, two minutes from Sabina Universitas and the shopping street, and in front of the elevator leading to the newly renovated Santa Lucia Cultural Center. The strategic location also allows visitors to walk to the center of Italy (Umbilicus Italiae, as Rieti's Marco Terenzio Varrone called it) in Piazza San Rufo, whose church houses a wonderful organ and a Guardian Angel by Caravaggio. Text / Source: Quattro Stagioni, Piazza Cesare Battisti 14, IT-02100 Rieti RI Internet: https://www.hotelquattrostagionirieti.com/

The three entrance portals to the cathedral and the bell tower maintain the original Romanesque style.

The patronage “SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA” (in German: “Assumption”) of the Episcopal Church (Cathedral) of Rieti refers to one of the many memorial or festival days in honor of the Mother of God Mary. It goes back to the festival of her physical assumption into heaven, which the (Catholic) Church celebrates annually on August 15th. In the Orthodox churches the feast is called the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. In many rural areas it is customary for bundles of herbs to be collected by the population on this day and blessed during the festival service.

Saint Lawrence / "San LORENZO", to whom this church in Contigliano - which is now only a ruin but still dominates the landscape with its silhouette - was dedicated, is one of the early Christian martyrs from a time when Christianity was still forbidden. He was archdeacon of the Pope and was asked by the pagan emperor to hand over the treasure to the church. Lawrence asked for three days, during which time he distributed the church assets among the poor inhabitants of Rome and, after the agreed time, came to the emperor with the poor to present them to him as the treasure of the church. He was then martyred to death, the legend says that he was roasted alive on a grate - this attribute can be seen in many depictions of Saint Lawrence - over coals. He is said to have been in good spirits and told his executioner on the one hand whether he wanted to turn him around. The feast day of San Lorenzo/Saint Lawrence in the calendar of saints is August 10th.

Located in the heart of Rieti, which according to classical literature is geographically the center of Italy, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is particular for its vaults and for the presence of architectural elements in Romanesque style. The artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini was called to design the chapel of Santa Barbara inside the Cathedral