![]() |
![]() |
Roman and
pre roman Sabina The Sabina has been inhabited since prehistoric times, remains of human settlement and flint tools dating from the Palaeolithic, ![]() The Sabini, a tribe from the Adriatic coast, arrived in the area around the ninth or tenth century B.C., founding the cities of Reate, Trebula Mutuesca and Cures Sabini. Thanks to it's strategic position close to the river Tiber and the Salaria road, Cures (close to modern day Talocci) became rich, at one time occupying thirty hectares and controlling most of the surrounding lands, which supplied agricultural products. Cures was gradually absorbed into the Roman state in 290 B.C., after the defeat of the Sabini. The definitive decline of Cures came 174 B.C., after it's destruction by a strong earthquake. This co-incided with a reorganization of the surrounding territory brought about by the need to increase agricultural yields using new systems of production. The many Roman villas built in the area during the second century B.C. are a sign of these changes. Known as villae rusticae, their production was orientated towards the Roman market, reached using the river Tiber, and consisted mainly of viniculture and olive growing with some raising of livestock, including thrushes -a luxury item on the Roman market. |
The rise
of Farfa Abbey The period following the decline of the Roman empire was characterized by repeated invasions, depopulation due to plague, and the collapse of centralized power structures, but also the spread of Christianity and the rise of monasticism. ![]() |
The medieval castle During this same period the population was abandoning old settlements in the valley bottoms ![]() |
The power of the Roman
nobles During the eighteenth century the population began to leave the old centres and move into the surrounding countryside, building scattered farms. This process took place most of all in the lower Sabina (closest to the Tiber valley), where the fertility of the soil allowed the introduction of the "mezzadria" or sharecropping system, under which farmers gave half their produce to the landowner in return for the rent of land and farmhouse. |
HOME SABINA ONLINE Places to visit - Events - How to get here - Map History - Gastronomy - Geography - Traditions Villages of the Sabina - Schools - Useful numbers "The Farfa from Farfa" - Links email: info@fabaris.it site produced for Fabaris srl. © 2000 Fabaris, all rights reserved |