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The route starts in Poggio Bustone, the birthplace of the famous singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti, also renowned for its excellent roasted pork, porchetta (Prodotto Agroalimentare Tipico). Climbing and descending along mule tracks and asphalt roads, we proceed towards Cantalice, the village developed vertically at almost ninety degrees on a mountain slope. Here, three-hundred and fifty steps lead to the Torrione del Cassero and the Church of San Felice, from whose churchyard a breathtaking view of the Lungo and Ripasottile Lakes appears. Cobbled alleys and stone stairways lend the village a magic fascination.
Just outside the village, we come across the Sanctuary of San Felice all'Acqua, said to stand on the place where the Saint, with his stick, made water come forth. The spring is still flowing today.
Descending on a pebbly path, after less than three km, we reach the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Foresta, the Church of San Fabiano, the San Francesco’s retreat of the Sacro Speco and, finally, the basin where the miracle of the grapes happened.
From the Sanctuary, a four kilometres asphalt road leads to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Rieti. The Church, with its Romanesque exterior in contrast with the Baroque interior, houses a marble statue of Santa Barbara, the town’s Patron Saint, based on a sketch by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
