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Saracinesco: The Village of Sundials
The name already says a lot. The name Saracinesco allegedly derives from a group of Saracen invaders who, instead of fleeing, decided to settle on the top of a hill in the Ruffi Mountains and found a village. Saracinesco is 53 km from Rome, and rises to a height of 952 metres above sea level, one of the tallest villages in Lazio. From the limestone streets climbing towards the medieval fortress, the view extends over the Monti Lucretili, the Aniene Valley and, on clear days, as far as the peaks of Abruzzo.
The Museum of Time
Saracinesco is known as the Village of Sundials. There are 7 “stations” dotted around the village, containing sundials and solar measuring instruments: an equatorial clock, a shepherd's dial, a horizontal sundial, a vertical declining sundial, an analemmatic sundial, a Lambert clock and a reproduction of the Roman-era Globe of Matelica. It is an open-air museum — called the Civic Museum of Time — that has neither ticket offices nor opening hours. You just need to walk around.
Porcini, Truffle and De Sica
Porcini mushrooms and truffles, stars of the local cuisine, grow in the Ruffi Mountain woodland. In autumn the Sagra della Polenta is held, served on scifette — traditional wooden dishes. On the walls of the village a mural is dedicated to Vittorio De Sica, who used the area as locations for his films. The Giovenzano Valley, reachable on foot from the village, offers trails through woods and by springs.
