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Poggio Moiano in Alta Sabina: the village of flower carpets
Poggio Moiano is a village in the Alta (Upper, or northern) Sabina region, 500m above sea level, in the Monti Lucretili Natural Park, 60 km from Rome. The Way of St Francis passes through it, and at the end of June the streets of the old town are covered with petal carpets for the artistic Infiorata.
A fief passed from hand to hand
The ancient Meiana or Miana (castle or fortress) partly belonged to the Abbey of Farfa at the beginning of the 11th century. In the first half of the 16th century the fief passed from the Anguillara to the Savelli family, then to the Borghese family in the mid-17th century, and finally to the Torlonia family.
Two churches worth visiting
The rural church of San Martino (St Martin) dates back to the 10th century. The façade has a rose window in local stone from the Roman era. In the old town stands the church of Santa Maria della Concezione e San Giovanni Battista (St Mary of the Conception and St John the Baptist), housing 15th- and 16th-century frescoes and a polychrome wooden sculpture from 1500 attributed to the Roman School. It has a Latin cross plan, a single nave, and a semicircular apse.
The Infiorata and the festivals
At the end of June the Feast of the Sacred Heart and the artistic Infiorata transform the village: over 300m of floral carpets made of petals are strewn on the procession streets. This tradition first started after the First World War. In 2018 the Infiorata Museum opened, dedicated to the history and techniques of the infiorata. The town also holds the Bruschetta Festival, and in early May, the Wild Asparagus Festival, with fettuccine and bite-sized morsels containing asparagus.
