Fara in Sabina
Fara in Sabina: a village with a long history
Welcome to Fara in Sabina! It is an Italian municipality located in the province of Rieti, in Lazio. It covers an area of about 62.23 km² and is home to 13,828 people. In this text, we will tell you everything about the territory and history of this interesting village.
## Physical geography
Territory
Fara in Sabina is located at almost 500 meters above sea level and is situated in the northwest part of Monte degli Elci. Another important element of the municipal territory is the Farfa river, which flows through this place.
Climate
The climate of Fara in Sabina belongs to zone E and is characterized by 2,242 degree days of cooling (GR/G). It follows the USDA 9 classification.
## History
The territory of the municipality has an ancient history, highlighted by many remains found in this area.
Protostoric settlements
The most important and complex one dates back to the late Bronze Age: it is the plateau of Monte San Martino, overlooking the Colle di Fara. This protohistoric settlement has been identified with Mefula, one of the ancient cities of Aborigines of mythology, present according to what is reported by Dionysius of Halicarnassus only 5 kilometers away from Suna, today Toffia. Here, some terracing works with dry stone walls have been found, some of which were hypothesized to date back to the protohistoric period.
Sabine settlement
Between the 9th century BC and the 6th century BC, a Sabine settlement was established in the locality of Santa Maria in Arci, identified with the city of Cures. The city continued to thrive in the Roman era, with remains of baths, a small theater, and a necropolis. In addition to the city, the territory was exploited from an agricultural point of view with a dense network of villas. Among these, we recall the villa of Grotte di Torri, the villa of Fonteluna, the villa of Mirteto, the villa of Cagnani, the villa of San Lorenzo a Canneto, the villa of Sant'Andrea and San Pietro near Borgo Salario, the villa of Grottaglie, the villa of Piano San Giovanni, the villa of Grotta Scura, and the villa of Monte San Martino.
The Middle Ages
The origins of the current settlement seem to date back to the end of the 6th century with the Lombards, as evidenced by the toponym derived from the Lombard term "Fara (Longobardi)", which means "family clan", or the always Lombard devotion to Saint Fara. The castle is attested from 1006 and from 1050 was under the control of the Abbey of Farfa. It was then a fiefdom of the Orsini family. Since 1400, it has become the seat of the commendatory abbot of Farfa and has seen the passage of various great families, starting from the Orsini family to the Barberini family. With Cardinal Francesco Barberini (cardinal 1623), nephew of Pope Urban VIII, who founded the monastery of the Clarisse Eremite with headquarters in the ancient castle in 1678.
Thank you for reading this brief overview of Fara in Sabina. We hope to have piqued your curiosity!
