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Photo: Alessandro Antonelli, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The small Baroque church is worth a visit mainly because of the painting known as "The Guarding Angel", hosted inside and attributed to Caravaggio or one of his pupils. It is said to be the most important painting in town.
San Rufo is a Baroque-style Roman Catholic church located in the town of Rieti, region of Lazio, Italy. The piazza in front of the church is said to be the geographic center of Italy.
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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.
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 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.
It maintains the original 16th-century wooden doors.
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.