Province of Rieti

The Province of Rieti (Italian: Provincia di Rieti) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rieti. Established in 1927, it has an area of 2,749 square kilometres (1,061 sq mi) with a total population of 159,670 people as of 2013. There are 73 comuni in the province.

Geography

Located in the northeast of the Lazio region in the heart of Italy, it is bordered to the west, along the Tiber, with the Province of Viterbo and the Province of Rome, to the north by the Umbrian provinces of Perugia and Terni, and to the east by Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region, and with the provinces of L'Aquila and Teramo in the Abruzzo region. The territory is mostly mountainous with the Monti della Duchessa and the Monti del Cicolano ranges in the south with Monte Nuria and Monte Giano, the Monti Reatini range with Monte Terminillo (2217 m) in the north in part of the Abruzzese Apennines, and Monti della Laga (2458 m) to the east on the border with Abruzzo. Of particular importance are the two artificial lakes in the Valle del Salto: Lago del Salto and Lago del Turano, which were both created during the Fascist period. Lago del Salto, also known as Del Salto Lake is the largest in the Lazio region and is situated at an altitude of 1,755 metres (5,758 ft).

Rieti

Rieti (Italian: [ˈrjɛːti]; Latin: Reate) is a city and comune in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of c. 47,700. It is the capital of province of Rieti.

The town centre rests on a small hilltop, commanding a wide plain at the southern edge of an ancient lake. The area is now the fertile basin of the Velino River. Only the small Ripasottile and Lungo lakes remain of the original large one.

History

Ancient era

Reate was originally a major site of the Sabine nation. After the Roman conquest, carried out by Manius Curius Dentatus in the late 3rd century BC, the village became a strategic point in the early Italian road network, dominating the "salt" track (known as Via Salaria) that linked Rome to the Adriatic Sea through the Apennines.

Curius Dentatus drained a large portion of the lake by making the Velino a distributary of the Nera river. The wide area once occupied by the lake turned into a fertile plain. Following Roman customs, the land was split into characteristic square allotments. The town itself underwent significant development, being re-organised according to typical Roman urbanistic standards (e.g., two orthogonal roads make up the settlement's backbone), and was fortified with strong walls. A stone bridge was laid across the Velino river, and a large viaduct was built to bring goods from the Salaria road directly to Rieti's southern door.