tirreno_adriatico_2015

delle numerose porte che vi si aprivano si possono ad oggi attraversare solo Porta Romana, Porta D’Arci
e Porta Conca. A queste si aggiungono accessi ora chiusi, come quello inglobato nel monastero di San
Benedetto, e la cosiddetta porta murata dove sorge la Chiesa di San Liberatore.
Molto caratteristico il centro storico, posto su una leggera altura ai margini della conca reatina, che si
sviluppa intorno a Piazza San Rufo che, secondo la tradizione, costituisce il centro esatto
dell’Italia. Il centro storico è delimitato, nella sua parte meridionale, dal Fiume Velino, uno dei più puliti
d’Europa, abitato da oche e germani reali.
Lying in a fertile plain on the slopes of Mount Terminillo, on the banks of the Velino River, Rieti is known as Umbilicus
Italiae, as it is considered the geographical centre of Italy. Large crowds of pilgrims have come here for centuries to
follow the St. Francis Way.
You cannot think of Rieti without picturing its majestic circle of walls, which can be seen from most city roads, and
reveals the history of the town.
Just the northern and eastern sections of the Medieval walls (dating from the first half of the 13th century – early
14th century) have been completely preserved to the present day, and just a few of the many former city gates are still
open, namely Porta Romana, Porta D’Arci and Porta Conca. Others have been closed off, such as the gate which was
integrated in St. Benedict’s Monastery and the so-called “porta murata” (walled-up gate), where San Liberatore church
was erected. The picturesque old town centre rests on a small hilltop, at the edge of the valley named Conca Reatina,
and it unfolds around Piazza San Rufo, which is traditionally considered to be the exact centre of Italy. South of the old
town flows the Velino River, which is one of the cleanest rivers in Europe, where geese and mallards nest.
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