Students: Kevin Dröscher, Emmanuel Diserens

Rieti is the capital of the Province of Rieti and one of the bigger urban centres along Via Salaria. Rieti or «Reate» was originally an important locus of the Sabine tribe; after the Roman conquest in the late 3rd century BC, the village developed into a strategic point for the early Italic road network, where Via Salaria served as the major salt transport route, linking Rome with the Adriatic. For the historical development of Rieti, a possibly interesting hypothesis is that the city has kept a certain autonomy from the «gravitational» influence of Rome. Next to the urban investigation of the city and province, the study will thus look into the specific relationship between Rieti and Rome. It would address the role and the form of urbanisation in Rieti province in Rome’s hinterland, before entering the Apennines.