Amatrice is a small town in the easternmost part of the province of Rieti. The town used to have a beautiful historical center, which has unfortunately been almost completely destroyed by the earthquakes of 2016 and 2017.
Amatrice travel guide
Useful information
Tourist information: The address of the Pro Loco is Corso Umberto I, 81 – 02012 Amatrice. Phone: +39 351 9836403. Hours: Monday closed, Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 till 13:00 and from 16:00 till 19:00, Saturday from 10:00 till 13:00 and from 16:00 till 20:00, Sunday from 10:00 till 13:00.
Town hall: Corso Umberto I, 70 – 02012 Amatrice. Phone: +39 0746 83081.
Railway station: Amatrice is not connected to the railway network.
In 2016, the entire historical center was destroyed by a severe earthquake.
Tourist attractions
Unfortunately, many of the city’s churches, towers and other monuments have not, or only partially, survived the earthquakes.
The main street is the Via del Corso, which was opened again in 2018, but without many of the shops that used to be there.
Of the Sant’Agostino Church, only the portal and the left wall are still standing. Even less remains of the Basilica of San Francesco.
One of the few structures to have reasonably survived the quakes is the Santuario della Madonna di Filetta in the La Rochetta suburb.
The Icona Passatoria Sanctuary in the suburb of Ferrazza is still standing, but the entire church is being supported by scaffolding and cannot be visited.
A brief history of Amatrice
In the early Middle Ages, the population of the territory was spread out over multiple villages, called Terra Summatine. After the Lombard invasion, the villages became part of the Duchy of Spoleto.
When the Duchy fell, the territory became property of the Holy See.
In the 13th century, it became part of the Kingdom of Naples.
The 14th century was characterized by battles with Cascia and Norcia. In the 15th century L’Aquila was the big adversary.
Amatrice chose to support the House of Aragon agains the Anjou and was rewarded with the privilege of its own currency.
In 1529, the city sided with the French, however, and ended up being almost compeltely destroyed by Charles V.
Respectively the Vitelli, the Orsini and the Medici were subsequent feudal lords of the city.
The last rulers before Amatrice joined a unified Italy was the Kingdom of Naples.
In 2016, an earthquake (magnitude 6.0) on the Richter scale, destroyed much of the old tow. A year later, a second quake caused further damage to the remaining structures.
Curiosities
One of the most “Roman” pasta dishes is named after the city. The Bucatini all’Amatriciana are made with a sauce of wild boar (guanciale), tomato and pecorino cheese. Instead of bucatini other types of pasta can be used, but onions, pancetta instead of guanciale and parmigiano instead of pecorino are no-goes, say the purists.
How to get to Amatrice byy car
Amatrice is located on the ancient Via Salaria consular road, now SS4, which connects the city to Ascoli Piceno, Rieti and Rome.