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Piazza San Rufo in Rieti: the Navel of Italy, according to the Ancient Romans
Piazza San Rufo in the centre of Rieti is hidden behind the palaces of Via Roma and Via Garibaldi. This is the point designated by classical tradition as the Umbilicus Italiae, the geographical centre of the peninsula. So said Marcus Terentius Varro, a scholar born here in the 1st century BC, later confirmed by Pliny the Elder. It is not a scientific calculation, rather a centuries-old tradition that the people of Rieti carry on with a certain pride.
A Moving Tradition
Originally, Italy’s “belly button” was Lake Paterno, 13 kilometres from Rieti, where a floating island appeared and disappeared through karstic phenomena, and which the Sabines considered to be sacred. In the 17th century the tradition shifted definitively to Piazza San Rufo. Since 1998, the centre of the square has housed a travertine monument bearing the outline of Italy and the inscription Umbilicus Italiae. The people of Rieti call it "la caciotta" — the little cheese — due to its rounded, domed shape.
The Church and Roman Remains
Facing the square stands the Church of San Rufo (St Rufus), documented as early as 873 AD, but rebuilt in 1748 with a Neoclassical façade and a Baroque interior. It houses the painting L'Angelo custode (the guardian angel), long attributed to Caravaggio, but now ascertained to be the work of Lo Spadarino. The remains of Roman walls uncovered in 1986 excavations can be glimpsed beneath a glass panel set into the paving.
