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The Bell Tower in Fara in Sabina: The Belfry That Stands Alone in Piazza del Duomo
In Piazza del Duomo in the town of Fara in Sabina, the bell tower stands in isolation, separate from the church. It is one of the first things one notices when entering the village: it is a square-plan structure with its corners oriented to the cardinal points, and two tiers of paired windows that lighten up the smooth tower. Beside it stands the 16th-century Farnese cistern, a public well dating from 1588 that still supplies water to the village today. Opposite stands Palazzo Brancaleoni with its archaeological museum, while at the far end is the Collegiate Church of Sant'Antonino (St Anthony). The square feels almost like a stage set. Fara in Sabina is in the province of Rieti, the first municipality of Sabina along the Via Salaria.
Bell Tower or Civic Tower?
The tower — referred to in ancient documents as the "campanile diviso", or detached belfry — is its dual function. It served the 14th-century church on whose foundations the Collegiate Church was later built (1501–1506), but its astronomical orientation and isolated position also lent it the role of a civic tower. It marked time for the village as a whole, not just for religious services.
A Square worth contemplating for a while
From the terrace beside the tower, the view opens out over the Tiber valley as far as Monte Soratte. It is worth pausing to observe how the elements of the square communicate with one another: the verticality of the tower, the austere volume of the 15th-century palazzo, and the classical façade of the cathedral with the heraldic roses of the Orsini family on the portal.
