Sabina: A Well-Kept Secret
The Romans have done a very good job of keeping Sabina to themselves, says Sue Watt, author of our Hidden Gem feature in the October issue
You’ll find very little written about Sabina in guidebooks on Italy, despite the fact that it’s less than an hour from Rome. It’s been inhabited since around 750BC when the Romans, in one of their most notorious acts, took a shine to the local women and carried them away for breeding.
Today, Sabina almost skims the outskirts of the capital city, yet it is worlds away from the chaos of Rome. You could almost believe that the last few centuries had bypassed Sabina’s sleepy villages; many of which have perched on the hilltops since the Middle Ages. But beneath this peaceful exterior, there is a turbulent past to uncover. The sixth-century Farfa Abbey in the south of the region, now the domain of quiet worshipers, was once a powerful monastery wielding control over the surrounding villages.
You can easily spend a week in Sabina, and a guided tour is a great way to discover more about the area’s rich history and witness its most breathtaking panoramas. And please don’t leave without sampling the famed local olive oil. Perfected over the last 2000 years, it has to be tasted to be believed.
