B A R E: Italy's Little Secret: Sabine Hills of Lazio (Torri in Sabina & Rochete)

Location:  Torri in Sabina, Italy

About: One of my favourite things about travelling is being able to visit remote places that I have only heard from a few to exist. Being a Filipino living in the UK,  hearing about the Sabina region of Italy sounded like a honeypot filled with unknown beauty and endless possibilities of getting in touch with nature... And it was not short of honey!

Torri in Sabina is a commune in the middle of the Province of Rieti. There are over 8,000 communes in Italy, btw! The emergence of communes around Italy has a complex history. Still, if I get it (slightly) right, I think communes form their individual government, while communes are more common in Northern and Central Italy. Based on my visit, if I were to describe what a commune is, they are like little villages with distinct geographical distances. Filipinos would probably call them "barangays", the most minor official division of a city/province. 

We visited about four communes in this area (if I remember right!): Casperia, Rochette, Montasola and Cantalupo.

TORRI IN SABINA

I first encountered salmon and blush pink coloured buildings when I visited Aix in the South of France. So automatically, the ambience has set me back to the warmth of the summer months. 

The little passages and crooked roads captured my valiant heart looking for serendipity. We walked around the commune during lunch, so everybody was home, and you could hear cheerful families having lunch together... or older people having conversations through their balconies or windows.

OUTFIT:  I was obsessed with Rixo during this time but being a broke student - I had to reinvent their look, so I paired up these two Topshop finds! The clashing print is so so Rixo!!! 

I love taking pictures of places that look and feel "lived", and Torri in Sabina is not short of that - with hanging laundry, little cars parked in the little corners and dripping water from flower pots on balconies, these little details really set the perfect scene! 

ROCHETTE 

Rochette is another commune in this region of the Sabine hills. We walked for about an hour from Torri to Rochette. On our way to Rochette, we passed by Rochetine, a castle ruin, I am unaware of its history, and the place is ungoogleable! So, if anybody reading this is familiar with this elusive place, please get in touch.

The sun was out, and we were baking in the sun, so when we made it to the waterfalls, imagine our rejoicing!

THEN FINALLY! After soaking up in the most refreshing little waterfall, we made it to Rochette.

We found Rochette quieter and more "hidden" than other communes. The commune rests on top of a hill as houses cascade around it. Almost all the flats were also made out of stone walls, and you can see the age of these homes. If I remember correctly, unlike Torri, there was no "modern" looking building nor infrastructure, and it was 100% residential as we did not see any cafes or shops.  

It was a long day but worth the walk and the thirst for being under the hot Mediterranean sun for hours (please DO NOT FORGET THE SUNBLOCK!).

HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED GOING THROUGH THIS POST!

We honestly cannot be thankful enough to have visited such a beautiful corner of the world when it was all still possible!

Please, if you have any plans to visit this region, do let me know, and I'd be more than happy to guide you...

The Sabine Hills and its communes are just so dear to my heart now, and I would always be looking forward to visiting 

xo 

Alra