A typically charming Sabina village: Selci Sabino
The area is better known abroad than in Rome, my guide explains, as we visit Selci Sabino, one of a handful of locations gaining a keen following abroad. English expat Miranda Goodman is originally from Hathersage, Derbyshire. She fell in love with the Sabina’s peace and tranquillity after spending 25 years in Rome and now runs a shop selling local handicrafts as well as an art gallery, where she provides information for tourists and exhibits the work of local artists. Miranda is clear that she would not want Sabina to become “another Tuscany”, whose popularity has come at the cost of its character, yet is keen to let people know – especially Rome-dwellers – what the Sabina region has to offer.
Selci first appears in the written sources in 1072, and it seems to have changed little since. Its name is derived from the Latin word Silex, or flint, referring to the quarries which used to dot the area, owned by the Orsini and Cesi families as well as the Holy See. Within its meandering streets you can admire the mediaeval stone slabs outside the church of St Salvatore, patron saint of the village. Nearby, the Cathedral of Vescoviò is well worth a visit, located within the site of ‘Forum Novum’, where excavations by archaeologists from the British School at Rome (Vince Gaffney, Helen Patterson and Paul Roberts) have confirmed the importance of the area in ancient times.
