Stimigliano – Forano e Oasi Tevere Farfa
Naturalistic Trail
Starting point
Stimigliano
Type of route
Route by Car and on Foot
Stages
3
Duration
1 day
Difficulty
Easy
In the Sabine countryside, the beauties alternate between the natural and the artistic. In particular, in this proposed itinerary, three enchanting villages are foreseen that overlook the Tiber valley and from which you can reach the wonderful Tevere Farfa Oasis.
Itinerary
Starting from Rome, take the A1 towards Orte, exit at Ponzano-Soratte, direction SR657 towards Stimigliano. It is about 7 km, in just over 10 minutes you arrive at the town. The town of Stimigliano is called “the Gate of Sabina”, it is in fact the first town you come across before Rome, exiting the motorway.
It is gathered around the imposing Baronial Palace of the Orsini family, a work built and expanded, in various phases, during the 16th century. Inside the Palace you can find paintings by the followers of Taddeo and Federcio Zuccari, with images that reproduce the life of Joseph and Mary. The beautiful medieval village is embellished by the church of SS. Cosma and Damiano and the church of San Valentino.
From the town you can admire a good part of the Lower Sabina and the gentle curves of the Tiber.
From Stimigliano we move to Forano, returning to the SR657 road and leaving the highway on the right, at the first roundabout, we go up towards the town. Forano is a small nucleus that has a very distant history, there is in fact evidence of Sabine settlements as early as the 9th century BC. Starting from the fall of the Roman Empire, the countryside is depopulated and in the centuries to come the town absorbs the identities of the local lords, until it becomes a Free Municipality in 1262.
The suggestive Palazzo Ducale, built around the 13th century, overlooks the ruins of the ancient Rocca. There are numerous churches: the S.S. Trinità e Maria Assunta, built at the end of the 17th century, the 19th century Waldensian Evangelical Church and the Church of San Sebastiano. The Parco della Rimembranza, dedicated to the fallen of the First World War, dating back to 1925, is enchanting.
The small hamlet of Gavignano is a nucleus, small but important from an archaeological point of view, in fact there are traces of walls from the Roman era.
Our itinerary is coming to an end, concluding in the fascinating embrace of nature, in the Tevere Farfa Oasis. Always on the SR657, towards Poggio Mirteto; once you reach the train station, continue towards Rome and at the first roundabout turn sharply right.
From the bridge onwards there are various possibilities: immediately under the bridge on the left begins a dirt path that can also be traveled by bicycle. After the bridge, specularly, there is a small dock from which to begin a pleasant walk. If you continue further, towards Nazzano, you can find signs for other routes in the park. The Reserve is a wonderful extension of 700 hectares of woods and clearings, with Poplars, Willows and Alders and many other varieties that follow the path of the Tiber.
The walk ends in the Reserve, with the scents of nature and the beauties of the Lower Sabina. A taste that preludes many other discoveries.