Mompeo
Mompeo is a small Sabine village loved by Roman generals, who chose these hills to rest from the battles and enjoy an unspoilt nature surrounding the Farfa Gorges
Population
525
Area
10,9 km²
Altitude
457 m
Where is it?
Mompeo rises 457 m. above sea level on the southern foothills of the Monti Sabini, 32 km. away from Rieti. It counts about 500 inhabitants and its territory is partly included in the Nazzano Tevere-Farfa Nature Reserve.
What to see?
The Orsini Naro baronial palace, returned to its maximum splendor after the important restoration carried out by the Municipality in the first decade of the 2000s is a “must” when visiting Mompeo: frescoed with works by the Rieti painter Vincenzo Manenti ("L'Onore", "L 'Aurora") and the Arezzo artist Salvi Castellucci ("La fede"), today it is used as a venue for exhibitions and cultural events. The palace also includes an ancient factory built during the 19th century by Patrizi Naro, and an astronomical observatory named after Professor Mario Corbino Bear, equipped with a powerful telescope that projects the images captured on the large screen set up in one of the rooms of the castle. The symbol of Mompeo is the stone gate at the entrance to the village, built in the second half of the 1600s and surmounted by the large Naro coat of arms. The opposite wide area is adorned with a beautiful stone balustrade decorated with sculpted coats of arms. From there visitors can enjoy a wide panorama over Sabina, including the Monte Soratte. Once crossed the gate, at the end of a steep street, the Church of San Carlo stands over a limestone spur. Its facade is very simple and harmonious: two side windows with gratings and another one above the a central door. The facade ended with a pediment, which followed the course of the donkey-back roof, above which a simple bell gable rises. The Church is now deconsecrated and houses the San Carlo Auditorium. The Parish Church of Mompeo, known as Church of the Nativity of Mary Most Holy, has an elliptical dome artistically decorated by Manenti, showing a stucco dove from which golden rays radiate towards the images of the four evangelists. The imprint of Manenti can also be seen in the round elements that adorn the vault of the chapel of the Crucifix, as well as in the canvas depicting the Madonna del Rosario surrounded by the fifteen mysteries, preserved in the first chapel on the left side of the church. In the chapel that follows on the same side are some of the relics donated by the Naro family, including a precious brass and silver bust depicting the patron saint of Mompeo, Sant'Egidio, made by Algardi, donated by Fabrizio Naro in 1660.