Fonte Colombo Sanctuary

At 5.5 km from Rieti, it is the place where, according to tradition, San Francesco (St. Francis) , during a stay of meditation lasting forty days in 1223, received confirmation of the Franciscan Order by Jesus, which he dictated to Brother Leone.
The location, on the side of a hill immersed in the woods, is beautiful and charming.
On the small square the 14th-century church of SS. Francesco and Bernardino stand out, preceded by a modern portico from 1940; a tiny convent is situated to the right side of the church and is accessed by means of the Cloister. To the left of the church you go down a rustic graded ramp sided by a Via Crucis with Stations in polychrome ceramics; after a few steps you'll find the Hermitage, with the cell in which the Saint underwent a tremendous operation for the cauterization of his optic nerve, the year before his death.
A little bit further down is the 13th-century Chapel of S. Maria. Going still further down you'll see "Sacro Speco", the cave in which St. Francis meditated and then the nearby chapel of San Michele with the rock that formed the bed of the Saint.
Fonte delle Colombe , which you reach by means of a half-kilometer walk in the woods, does not present itself for any particular interest (the ferns and moss that cover it are beautiful), but it is a nice walk in beautiful woods and is suitable for all.