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Hermitage of St Gregory in Cantalice: Roman History Meets 20th-Century Memory
On the ridge of the Civitella hills, along the road to San Felice all’Acqua, the Hermitage of St Gregory rises on land that has been inhabited since long before the Middle Ages. A Roman inscription dating to 173 BC was found here, studied by the great epigraphist Theodor Mommsen: an artefact attesting that this corner of the Monti Reatini was already inhabited during the Republican era. The church was built in 1151, probably during the spread of the Benedictine rule in Sabina, and has since remained a landmark for the surrounding territory.
Saletta dei Ricordi (Room of Memories)
Inside the hermitage is the Room of Memories, a permanent exhibition-museum conceived by Antonio Tavani. Inaugurated in 2014, it is dedicated to the 29 victims of the air disaster of 13 February 1955: the DC-6 of Belgian airline Sabena, which had departed from Brussels bound for Rome Ciampino, crashed into the Acquasanta ridge on the slopes of Monte Terminillo, in the municipality of Cantalice, at an altitude of 1,700 metres. The snow-affected search lasted 8 days, among the victims was Marcella Mariani, actress and Miss Italy 1953. The 5 rooms retrace the final minutes of the flight, reconstructed from original documents, the story of the search operations, the solidarity shown by the people of Rieti, and the parallels with the Superga air disaster of 1949.
