History of the Sacred Valley
The Sacred Valley offers very important proof of human settlements during prehistoric eras such as the so-called Ripostiglio di Contigliano where bronze statutes of Cyprian and Aegean origin were discovered.

There is scarce archaeological documentation regarding the subsequent eras even though excavations in the city of Rieti (San Rufo Square) brought to light a settlement that dates to the 4^th century B.C. The Valley was conquered by the Roman Consul Marco Curio Dentato in 290 B.C. which saw the beginning of large-scale reclamation work in the valley.

Christianity spread quickly and brought to the founding of the Rieti Diocese between the 5^th and 6^th centuries. The Valley was occupied in 570 A.D. by the Longobards and it became a faction of the Spoleto Duchy. At the end of the 9th century, the Rieti territory suffered an attack by the Saracens who sacked the Farfa Abbey and San Salvatore Maggiore to then penetrate into Rieti.

The 13^th century saw much activity in Rieti. The Mendicant Orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians) settled in and around Rieti sharing in its cultural and social development.

The 13^th century saw much activity in Rieti. The Mendicant Orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians) settled in and around Rieti sharing in its cultural and social development.

The black plague of 1348 claimed many victims in Rieti, too. From the second half of the 14^th century and the first half of the 15^th century the Alfani family rose to power and governed Rieti under its dominion. In the middle of the 15^th century the valley fell permanently under the ruling of the Papal State with the exception of some offshoots of the Kingdom of Naples like Cantalice. The Rieti Diocese, therefore, had say in parts of the territory governed by the Papal State as well as in parts of the Kingdom of Naples making it a powerful Dioceses during the 17^th and 18^th centuries that boasted 243 churches and oratories in addition to its parish churches.

In modern times, under the direction of Papal authority, the Sacred Valley once again set to work to reclaim the land by draining the countryside. Sangallo tried in vain from 1545 to 1546. At the end of the century Giovanni Fontana succeeded in making a large part of the plain suitable for agriculture.

From 1809 to 1814, the Sacred Valley and the entire Lazio Region was annexed to
Napoleon Bonaparte’s Empire. In 1816 it was returned to the Papal State and Rieti became its capital. With the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the valley was joined to Umbria. In 1923 it became a part of the Province of Rome. The Province of Rieti was born in 1927.