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The euro currency was introduced on January 1, 2002. Italians still have fond memories of their former currency, the lira, despite the fact that they had to count in millions; this monument, sculpted by Daniela Fusco and inaugurated in 2003 by Sofia Loren, has become a cherished tourist attraction.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
The southern city gate of the mediaeval city walls, into the Via Salaria consular road to Rome. The current gate was built in 1586 and enclosed the small street Via Porta Romana; in 1930 it was moved at the centre of the square to make its appearance more spectacular, as if it was an arch of triumph. Atop the gate, an inscription greets who is entering the city in Latin Ingredere Omnia Fausta Ferens ("enter bringing good wishes"); another salutes who is exiting the city with I et red feliciter ("go and come back successfully").
It consists in a display of sculptures, coins, goldsmithery and objects from the prehistoric, Etruscan, Hellenistic and Roman periods, including an iron age urn found near Rieti.
The so-called geographical centre of Italy might seem like a gimmick to attract tourists, but Rieti was nicknamed "Umbilicus Italiae" ("navel of Italy") even in Roman times. The exact point is at St. Rufus square, recorded by a multilingual plaque and a monument which locals call "caciotta", as it resembles a round cheese.
17th-century fountain at the centre of the square.
St. Dominic church has an architecturally significant convent, well worth a visit. It develops around the Blessed Colomba cloister, with a beautiful Italian-style garden and a portico decorated by frescoed lunettes illustrating the life of the blessed Colomba. At one side of the cloister, there is the St. Peter the Martyr Oratory, a small chapel that houses an astonishing fresco of the Last Judgment, painted by brothers Lorenzo and Bartolomeo Torresani between 1552 and 1554. Sadly, it is almost impossible to visit the oratory and the cloister, since it's part of the military area of an Italian Army barracks (caserma Verdirosi), and the military allows touristic visits only on special occasions (e.g. "giornate FAI"). This is a real shame, since it is arguably the most important fresco in the whole city!
It's a small alley that perfectly represents the typical features of mediaeval cities, with arches, ladders and narrow passages. It's not the cleanest spot in town, although it has been repaved.