What to see in Rieti in one day, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Bishop's Palace and the Church of San Francesco.
Tourist information
Provincial capital located in the Lazio region, as well as an agricultural, commercial and industrial center located on the lower slopes of Mount Terminillo, along the banks of the Velino river, in ancient times Rieti was first capital of the Sabines and later a possession of the Romans, until it was seriously damaged by the Saracens in the ninth century and in 1149 by Roger II of Sicily.
At the end of the twelfth century it passed under papal rule, remaining there for a long time, except for the short period in which it was administered by the king of Naples.
In Rieti you can still see the well-preserved thirteenth-century city walls.
The Town Hall, located in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, which dates back to the thirteenth century but underwent alterations in the eighteenth century, houses the civic museum.
The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, located in Piazza Battisti, presents itself to the visitor as the result of the renovation that affected him in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The Romanesque bell tower is connected to the facade through a porch from 1458.
The interior of the Duomo, built in Baroque style, preserves a fresco by Antoniazzo Romano, while in the Santa Barbara Chapel there is a sculpture by Giovanni Antonio Mari, which depicts the Saint.
The twelfth-century crypt and the baptistery with the diocesan museum dedicated to sacred art are very beautiful.
What see
On the Piazza del Duomo there is also the Palazzo della Prefettura, also called Palazzo del Governo, with a remarkable loggia from the end of the sixteenth century located on the right side.
Nearby, in via Vittori, is the Palazzo Vescovile, dating back to 1283, which presents itself with two arches on the facade with the function of supporting the loggia.
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Inside this building, the grandiose two-aisled porch with Gothic-style arches deserves attention.
The arch of the bishop starts from the palace, an interesting bridge connecting two cross vaults, built on the wishes of Boniface VIII.
Along the Via Cintia, where the sixteenth-century Vincentini palace rises, it is possible to reach the Piazza della Beata Colomba and the Piazza Mazzini, where the Church of Sant'Agostino is located, built in the twelfth century and reworked in the eighteenth century, with an interesting portal on the facade and remarkable paintings inside, dated between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Continuing in the direction of the Velino river, just before reaching the left bank, it is possible to reach the Romanesque church of San Francesco, located in the square of the same name and dating back to 1425, which houses valuable frescoes by Torresani and the fourteenth-century Chapel of the Nativity.
Nearby are the grandiose cloister, which represents an interesting example of Baroque architecture, and the oratory of San Bernardino.
