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The Lombard Tower in Poggio Catino: A Pentagonal Outpost of the Duchy of Spoleto
In the late 7th century the Lombards of the Duchy of Spoleto founded the castrum of Catino, a hamlet in the Poggio Catino area, as an outpost on the border with the Roman Duchy. The position is strategic: this outpost controls Via Tancia, an alternative road to Via Salaria, connecting lower Sabina to Rieti. The Lombards built a fortress with a watchtower at the highest point of the village. The Lombard Tower is still there, and it is the most recognisable monument in the Rieti sector of the Sabina area.
A Pentagonal Structure
The tower is over 20 metres high, with an unusual pentagonal floor plan — the acute vertex points north-east. The masonry is in rubble stone with a tight weave, and perfectly regular corners in dressed stone. The structure narrows towards the summit over four stories. The tower, the curtain wall on the east side and two well-preserved corner towers are all that remain of the fortress. The rest is in a ruined state, but the fortified layout is still clearly legible from above.
The Military Function
A fortification like that of Catino can only be explained by its strategic importance. The Lombard fara — a group of warriors bound by kinship ties — settled here to control the passage towards Rieti and the border with the papal territories. The tower served to spot enemy movements along the valley and communicate with other fortifications in the area. In the landscape of Sabina it is unique in terms of building typology, masonry precision and state of preservation.
