This is meant to be the Way of Saint Francis, the evocative itinerary to be walked, ridden on horseback, or explored by mountain bike, in the heart of the most authentic Sabina region.
A journey where passion for travel, adventure, and spirituality merge to become inseparable companions. Born from the creativity and enthusiasm of Diego Di Paolo, director of the Rieti Tourist Board, the Way is now brought to the attention of the wider public.
The Way of Saint Francis extends 80 km and is marked by 8 stages, set against hills and mountains covered with forests, springs, lakes, and, of course, sanctuaries.
All linked to a memory, a fragment of the saint’s life. With the “Pilgrim’s Passport,” one can start from Rieti, the ancient capital of the Sabines, a sunny town with several significant monuments (from the Cathedral with a Romanesque bell tower to the Prefecture with the airy Vignola loggia; from the imposing Town Hall to the Bishop’s Palace showcasing Gothic lines), and reach the Fonte Colombo Complex, nestled a few kilometers south, where Francis wrote the Rule of the Friars Minor, approved by Pope Honorius III in 1223.
Hidden by dense vegetation and overlooking the valley at 550 meters altitude, Fonte Colombo is a place completely detached from time. It includes the convent and a single-nave church from the mid-13th century; the most surprising part lies in the forest of centuries-old holm oaks, where a hermitage, the Maddalena chapel with Byzantine school frescoes, and an incredible fissure in the rock are found. Here the saint, already affected by trachoma (an eye disease that made light contact painful and thus contact with the nature he so loved), secluded himself for forty days to write the Rule.
Another stage full of suggestions is the Sanctuary of the Forest, where Francis composed the Song of the Creatures, a hymn to life and universal love. The convent boasts a delightful cloister and incorporates two medieval chapels alongside the indispensable hermitage where the saint fled from the light and sought God.
A must-see stop is Poggio Bustone (the birthplace of Lucio Battisti, remembered by a bronze statue in the March Gardens square), the first place visited by Francis on his arrival in the Reatina Basin: a path cutting the mountain leads to the chapel where he had the vision announcing the expansion of the order and the remission of sins. But Rivodutri is also worth seeing: here, to surprise modern pilgrims, is a beech tree with an incredibly twisted trunk, the result of a genetic mutation.
