CAR
From the north
Take the motorway A1 Firenze-Roma, exit immediately after the Roma-Nord toll at Fiano Romano and then follow SS4 Salaria, direction Rieti.
From the south
Take the motorway A1 Napoli-Roma, at San Cesareo take the diversion to the motorway A1 Firenze-Roma, direction Roma; leave the motorway at the Fiano Romano toll and then follow SS4 Salaria, direction Rieti.

TRAIN - BUS
Poggio Nativo can be reached from Rome and from Orte with the train line FIUMICINO AEROPORTO-ROMA-ORTE. The nearest station is Fara Sabina. Blue-coloured COTRAL-buses connect the station with Poggio Nativo.

For further information:
Servizio FS informa tel. (892021) land line.
http://www.trenitalia.it

http:// www.cotralspa.it

Poggio Nativo is set at the altitude of 415m above sea level on a spur of a hill between the valley of river Farfa in the north and its tributary Fosso Riana in the south. It faces the hills, covered by olive groves and woods. At the far end of the living area, leaning forward to the valley, there are the remains of an old castle.
The living area has a lengthened form and it expands along the main street Via Florido which leads to the farthest point of the hill and to the fortress of Borghese. Other two parallel routes are traced out in the northeast at much lower altitude. Poggio Nativo, originally called Podium Donadei, rises on a plain called ?Massacci.
According to an old tradition the old name of Poggio Nativo (Podium Donadei) derives from the fact that the living area was founded by the populations of the neighbouring villages who escaped there to defend themselves from the barbarian invasions. Il Dono di Dio (the Gift from God) to which the old name refers, was those people's way of thanking Providence, who had saved them.

The first news ever regarding Poggio Nativo refer to a looting carried out by the troups of Antonio Piccolomini in 1462, if we exclude the data regarding the foundation of a small centre of Monte Santa Maria (dating from XIV century and today a hamlet of Poggio Nativo), attributed to the monks of Farfa. The Borghese ruled over the village from the 17th century till 1920.
It is very difficult to reconstruct the historical events of Poggio Nativo, due to the small quantity of medieval documents. It probably remained under the Holy See till the 14th century, passing then to the baronial family Savelli under whom it stayed until 1633, when they were forced to sell it for 105,000 scudos to prince Marcantonio Borghese. The magnificent buildings set in the village are a proof of the power of some families that used to live there and of the economical prosperity of the community. The participation of the inhabitants of Poggio Nativo in national events that led to the creation of the Republic of Italy, was particularly intense.

S.S. Annunciata?s Church
Some historians agree with the tradition according to which this church was built in order to substitute an old chapel, dedicated to Beata Vergine Maria and which was consecrated by pope San Silvestro I. The first one has a portal and a font.
In 1576, during the pontificate of Gregorio XIII, the church was enlarged and richly decorated by Bernardino and Lucrezia Anguillara?..
The church was renovated after the earthquake of 1915 and it preserves a precious painting of the Umbrian-roman school dating from the end of the 16th century and representing San Francesco di Paola.

Monastic complex of S. Paolo
Located near the living area. The date 1261, written on an epigraph which is set on the portal tells that the building dates from the second half of the 13th century. Rests of the marble decorations of the portal and the floor, dating from the 13th century and attributed to ?cosmatesca? school, are preserved in the room set in front of the sacristy.

Monte S. Maria (hamlet of Poggio Nativo)
This castle, just like Castelnuovo di Farfa, was built between the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century. The oldest data about Monte S. Maria dates from 1339, when Benedetto XII listed it among castles ?? Its walls must have been built very carefully as Sisto, abbot of Farfa, escaped there in the second half of the 14th century to avoid free companies which accomplished continuous incursions in Sabina in that period. In 1853 Monte S. Maria had 480 inhabitants ??.

The museum of olive oil of Sabina
The museum was inaugurated lately and is located in the 16th century building Palazzo Perelli and illustrates, through an original route in the town, the history of the olive oil in Sabina, acknowledged as one of the best in the world. Several installations have been realized for the museum of the masters of contemporary sculpture, among which there are Alik Cavaliere, Maria Lai, Hidettoshi Nagasawa and Gianandrea Gazzola. One of the rooms, dedicated to ?Memory?, presents a photographic documentation, accompanied with music selected by the inhabitants of Castelnuovo; in addition there is a multimedia room and the room of ?Machines? which preserve old presses used in Sabina. These machines document the transformations in the production of oil over four centuries, together with a group of terracotta jars dating from the 17th century.

For further information:
Castelnuovo di Farfa (Rieti)
Palazzo Perelli, via Perelli Tel. 076536370
proprietà pubblica
open 15.30-20 Friday, 10-20 Saturday and Sunday, other days on request
entrance € 5,16 full fare, € 3,62 cut price


Farfa Abbey
Farfa Abbey is one of the greatest European medieval constructions. It was protected by Carlo Magno and ruled a very large part of the central Italy during the period of full bloom. The abbey?s origins are still pretty much a mystery, although the most recent archaeological diggings lead by David Whitehouse, the head master of the British School in Rome, have verified the existence of a complex dating back to the Roman period under the current Abbey. The almost certain identification of Lorenzo Siro with the bishop of Forum Novum (Vescovio) of 554, would ascertain the creation of a centre for faith and wealth in the sixth century. It is known that a basilica and monastic buildings existed during the times of the invasion of Longobards. According to a legend, during the last twenty years of the seventh century, Tommaso di Moriana (o Morienna) who lived in Jerusalem, after a vision of Madonna in which he was urged to go to Sabina, more precisely in Acuzza, to look for the remains of a basilica dedicated to her, re- erected the building constructed by bishop Siro and refounded the community. During the first years of the eighth century the monastery enjoyed the protection of Duke of Spoleto Faroaldo II.
So Farfa was an Imperial Abbey, free of the papal control but very close to the Holy See. In only a few decades it became one of the most known and prestigious centres of the medieval Europe; Carlo Magno, a few weeks before he was crowned in Campidoglio, visited the Abbey and stayed there for a while. To understand the economical importance of Farfa, it is enough to think that during the third decade of the ninth century it owned a trading ship exempted of harbour customs of Carolingian Empire. Further enlargement of the monastery dates back to that same period. The decline of the Carolingian Empire and the arrival of Saracens were fatal to the Abbey. Abbot Pietro I with his troops resisted seven years and after having divided monks and the treasure in three parts, left Farfa. The Abbey was occupied and set on fire. The first of the three groups founded Santa Vittoria di Matenano in the region of Marche, the second was massacred by the Saracens in Rieti and the third which had escaped to Rome, returned to Farfa once the danger was over, with Ratfredo who had been denominated Abbot and who completed the church in 913. However, it was only a flash in the pan, as after the imperial protection the territorial unity loosened. Some roman families (Crescenzi-Ottaviani e Stefaniani) settled in the territories of the Abbey and became actually owners of these. The decline was so bad that the abbey had actually three abbots at the same time, fighting over it with each others.
The last recovery of Farfa was due to Abbot Ugo I (997-1038), which occurred not at random at the same time with imperial revival that was due to the dynasty of the Ottoni. The reform created in Cluny was introduced in 999. During the dominion of Berardo I Farfa became Imperial Abbey and in the Investiture Conflict it drew up with Enrico VI and against popes. As a consequence in 1097 the monks decided for safety reasons to move the abbatial complex to the nearby mount Acuziano where imposing ruins of the work once started but never finished are still visible today. Farfa owned a large amount of properties over that period and it is all listed in a diploma dating back to 1118. Emperor Enrico V confermed that the following areas belonged to the Abbey: S. Eustachio and Palazzo Madama in Rome, Viterbo, Tarquinia, Orte, Narni, Terni, Spoleto, Assisi, Perugia, Todi, Pisa, Siena, Camerino, Fermo, Ascoli, Senigallia, Osimo, Chieti, Tivoli, the territori of Aquila, Molise, the port of Civitavecchia and half of the city.
The final decline started quite soon: the Deed of Worms (1122) marks the passage of the monastery to the papal authority and with Abot Adenolfo (1125) its total subjection became official. Economical and monastic crisis deteriorated irreparably the life of the Abbey and around 1350 the abbot was interdicted and excommunicated because of a missing payment of tithes to the Apostolic Chamber.
Carbone Tomacelli, Cardinal and nephew of Bonifacio IX was nominated the first Commendatory Abbot in the beginning of the 15the century. The glamour of the past centuries did certainly not come back but in some cases the noble families who possessed the monastery, improved its structure. The family Orsini built the current church in the second half of the 15th century which was consecrated in 1496; the Barberinis reorganized and enlarged the village where at present two large fairs are held each year on 25th March and 8th September, to commemorate Annunciation and Virgin to whom the church is dedicated.
In 1789 Farfa underwent the looting of the French and in 1861 it was confiscated by the Italian State. The Abbey has belonged to a Benedictine community of S. Paolo fuori le mura since 1921.

SANTACITTARAMA BUDDHIST MONASTERY
Santacittarama, "The Garden of the Serene Heart", is a small Buddhist monastery of the ancient Theravada tradition. It was founded in 1990 in order to meet the existing interest among Italian Buddhists as well as the Thai, Sri Lankan and Burmese immigrant communities. The Santacittarama Association - the legal body representing the monastery - is part of the Italian Buddhist Union and was officially recognized by the state as a religious organization in 1995. The monastery is located in the Sabina hills, about 50km. from Rome, in the district of Poggio Nativo, Rieti province.

The resident community follows a tradition inspired by the Thai forest monk Venerable Ajahn Chah (1918-1992), an influential teacher under whom many Westerners, attracted by the clarity, simplicity and accessibilty of his teaching and practice, were ordained as monks in Thailand.

S. Benedetto al Vigneto
loc. S. Benedetto n. 6
tel. 0765-81171

Da Saverio
via Roma
tel. 0765-872078

Il Centurione
via Archipiglione n°32
Casali di Poggio Nativo
tel. 0765-841142

La Grigliata
via Salaria km. 49,2
tel. 0765-841269

L?Oasi
loc. S. Paolo
tel. 0765-872154

B&B Il Paese delle Meraviglie
Via Mirtense km.5
tel. 0765-872599