Discover Italy: Great Travel Tips - Scenic Drives - Motorcycle Tours - Art Cities - Food & Wine

This is another panoramic and scenic tour. Let's start our journey in the area of Sabina from Rocca Sinibalda (pic n°4), a perfectly-preserved medieval village surrounded by the silence of the nearby hills.

You can easily reach Rocca Sinibalda from Rome by following the famous Via Salaria. You will recognize the typical regional landscape a few miles before reaching the village, which is dominated by a majestic castle built in the eleventh century and surrounded by ancient farmhouses overlooking the valley.

You will continue the tour by taking Strada Provinciale Turanense, which goes along the narrowest part of lake Turano, until you will reach Castel di Tora (pic n°1). At the very entrance of the village, there is a signboard, which reminds you that Castel di Tora is one of "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy". Walking through its narrow alleys adorned with strings and bows of the typical Medieval architecture, you can easily understand the truth of that saying. First, we encounter the remains of the polygonal tower that was once part of the castle, then the lookout towers of the ancient walls that used to protect the town. Keeping on walking throughout the town, the side streets become perfect windows to enjoy the incredible views of the surrounding nature, Colle di Tora and Lake Turano, until you will reach the main square with the wonderful eighteenth-century Church of St. John the Evangelist.

Next stop is Collalto Sabino (pic n°3), located on a hill close to the southern part of the beautiful Lake Turano (pic n°5). This town is also considered as one of "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy". The town was the former venue of a monastery belonging to the nearby Abbey of Farfa, whose ruins are located on a nearby hill. The traces of its old role as a fortification still lie in its defensive walls dotted with stone gates, and in the Baronial Castle, restored and kept alive by the many noble families who have lived there.

Leaving Collalto Sabino behind, get to Orvinio (pic n°2), one of the most typical villages of the Sabina area, and again, it is also listed among "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy". It is the highest village in the National Park of Monti Lucretili. The Medieval village is dominated by the great castle overlooking the village, probably built in the twelfth century and now belonging to the Marquise Malvezzi Campeggi. The town is characterized by picturesque alleys and the beautiful Church of Santa Maria dei Raccomandati with its diamond-shaped bell tower, located in the highest part of the town.