Rieti

Rieti has a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csb), which in contrast to most of dry-summer Italy, which mostly has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa).

Fontana dei delfini.

Loggia and gardens of Palazzo Vincentini.

San Rufo church, in the square considered the centre of Italy.

St. Augustine church.

Mount Terminillo in summer.

The ancient Sabine and Roman city was crowded with buildings, including baths (thermae). Only scarce remains were found during excavations in 19th and 20th century: the foundations of a large temple, the stone floor of the main square (forum), walls from private houses, concrete vaults, statues and pottery items. The most striking remains are the stone bridge across the Velino river and the viaduct.

Piazza San Rufo is traditionally considered to be the exact centre of Italy (Latin Umbilicus Italiae).

Other sights include:

• Rieti Cathedral: Construction started in 1109 over a pre-existing basilica, was consecrated in 1225 and almost entirely rebuilt in 1639. It has a stunning Romanesque bell tower from 1252. The entrance portico leads to a 13th-century portal. The interior, on Latin cross plan with one nave and two aisles, has mainly Baroque decorations, including a St. Barbara sculpted by Giannantonio Mari (1657), probably designed by Bernini. Antoniazzo Romano contributed a fresco. It also houses canvases from 16th and 17th centuries. The crypt corresponds to the most ancient part of the church, consecrated in 1157. The Baptistery has an elegant 15th-century baptismal font.
• Palazzo Vescovile ("Bishops Palace" or "Papal Palace"): Construction begun in 1283. Noteworthy are the loggia and eight Renaissance-style windows from 1532. The lower floor is occupied by the so-called "Volte del Vescovado", a great portico with two naves of Gothic arcades. The Grand Hall houses the Diocese Gallery.

Vaults of Palazzo Vescovile, also known as the Papal Palace.

• Palazzo Comunale ("Town Hall", 13th century, rebuilt in the 18th century), facing Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, a square corresponding to the ancient Roman forum. The Palace houses the town museum (Museo Civico di Rieti) which hosts works by Antoniazzo Romano, Antonio Canova, Bertel Thorwaldsen.

Palazzo Comunale.

• Palazzo del Governo, with a noble loggia from 1596.
• Bishop's Arch, a bridge built by Boniface VIII.
• San Pietro Martire - church of St. Peter Martyr (13th century), with luxurious golden Baroque decorations. It has a Presentation of Christ to the Temple by Giovanni Battista Gaulli.
• Palazzo Vicentini, attributed to Giuliano da Sangallo the Younger.
• Walls of Rieti; Walls date from first half of the 13th century, with characteristical rounded and square towers.
• Sant'Agostino: 13th century Gothic-style church restored in the 18th century). The portal has a fresco of Madonna with Child and Saints Augustine and Nicholas (1354) of Sienese school.
• San Francesco: church begun in 1245, radically restored in 1636). The interior has a single nave. The original frescoes from the 14th-15th centuries depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis and the Virgin and Child[5] are now in the Diocese Museum and in the Palazzo Vescovile.
• Teatro Flavio Vespasiano is the city's theater and opera house, built in the late 19th century.
• Palazzo Vecchiarelli: late Renaissance palace designed by Carlo Maderno.
• Sant'Antonio al Monte: 15th century monastery and church
• San Domenico

Also interesting are the sights in the Lake Lungo and Ripasottile Natural Preserve, and the Mount Terminillo.

The Sanctuary of Fonte Colombo, near Rieti, founded by Saint Francis and part of the Cammino di Francesco pilgrim way

• Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BC), Roman scholar and writer.
• Antonio Gherardi (1638–1702), Italian painter, architect, and sculptor (stuccoist).
• Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni (1657–1743), composer.
• Giuseppe Ferrari (1840–1905), painter.
• Elio Augusto Di Carlo (1918–1998), Italian ornithologist, historian and physician.
• Renzo De Felice (1929–1996), historian of Fascism.
• Kobe Bryant (1978-2020), NBA player grew up in Rieti.[6][7]
• Willie Sojourner (1948-2005), NBA player. Played, coached and died in Rieti. PalaSojourner is named after him.

• Ito, Japan, since 1985[8]
• Saint-Pierre-lès-Elbeuf, Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France, since 2000[9]
• Nordhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany, since 2010[10]

Strada statale 4 Via Salaria, the main road link between Rieti and Rome, near Poggio San Lorenzo

Rieti is not crossed by any of Autostrade of Italy; all roads connecting Rieti with other cities are therefore state highways (strade statali), in most cases single carriageway roads.

The most important road link is strada statale 4 Via Salaria, which connects Rieti with Rome at south and with Ascoli Piceno and the Adriatic sea at north, just like the ancient Via Salaria Roman road. Other major roads include the strada statale 79 Ternana, which connects Rieti with Terni and with the Orte gate of Autostrada A1; strada statale 17, which branches from strada statale 4 in Antrodoco, connects Rieti with L'Aquila; strada statale 578 Salto Cicolana, which connects Rieti with Avezzano and with the Salto valley gate of A24 and A25 autostradas.

Rieti's railway station

Rieti's railway station is located on the regional, low traffic Terni–Sulmona railway, with trains to Terni and L'Aquila.[11] There is no direct railway link between Rieti and Rome, as the construction of such railway has been subject of a long debate but never took place;[12] Rome can be reached by bus or by catching a train to the Terni station, where direct trains to Rome can be found.[13]

The Rieti Airport is mainly used by small private planes and for gliding.

Athletics venue stadio Raul Guidobaldi

• Stadio Raul Guidobaldi in Rieti hosts every year since 1971 the Rieti Meeting, an international athletics event known for the many world records settled here, to the point that Steve Cram defined Rieti as "a Mecca for middle-distance runners looking for fast times".[14] Example of these include Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, who ran the then world record time of 9.74 s in the 100 meters at the Rieti meeting on September 9, 2007 (the record stood until Usain Bolt broke it on 31 May 2008) and Kenyan runner David Rudisha, who ran a world record time of 1:41.01 in the 800 meters at the Rieti meeting on August 29, 2010 (the record stood until Rudisha beat his own mark at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, running a 1:40:91 on August 9, 2012).
• The 2013 edition of European Athletics Junior Championships were also held at the Stadio Raul Guidobaldi.[15]

Basketball match of Nuova AMG Sebastiani at PalaSojourner

• Rieti is the base of a strong athletics movement, with an average of one athlete every forty inhabitants.[16] Atletica Studentesca Andrea Milardi, formerly known as Atletica Studentesca CARIRI, is the main athletics team and has been the place where many Italian athletes grew up to become part of the Italy national athletics team. Among them is Andrew Howe, born in Los Angeles but grown up in Rieti,[17] Angelo Cipolloni, Patrizia Spuri, Roberto Donati, Lorenzo Valentini and many others.
• Rieti was home to an important basketball team, AMG Sebastiani, which played in the PalaSojourner arena and won the 1979-80 FIBA Korać Cup, whose players included Willie Sojourner and Joe Bryant (who played in Rieti from 1984 to 1986 and then another 5 years in Italy; his son Kobe Bryant, who also became an NBA player, attended school in Rieti and as a result spoke fluent Italian.[6][7]). After the dissolution of AMG Sebastiani, newer teams were formed such as Nuova AMG Sebastiani, which managed for some years to regain a spot in Italian basketball's first division.
• The biggest football club in Rieti is Serie C team FC Rieti, which plays at the Stadio Centro d'Italia – Manlio Scopigno. Futsal team Real Rieti Calcio a 5 plays in Italy's premier league.
• Rieti is home to a 9-hole golf course, the "Centre of Italy" golf club.

• Lake of Cutilia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rieti.

Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article "Rieti".

• Official website of the municipality of Rieti (in Italian)
• Rieti's Map
• Rieti Tourist Board