GTL 10 Lazio from Arsoli to Rieti

LAKE TURANO 

Once on the border with Abruzzo, the GTL route turns north and heads to Sabina, towards the fourth provincial capital of the region: after Rome, Latina and Frosinone, this stage takes us to Rieti, the "geographical center of Italy". To do so, he chooses the gentler and less harsh route through the mountains, continuing to follow the Way of St. Benedict as already happened in stage 6. We climb in altitude passing through villages set in the green of the Apennine woods, Riofreddo, Vallinfreda, Orvinio, and then enter the Turano valley, where the lake of the same name was formed in 1939, following the construction of a huge dam. In fact, the track follows a flat pace and even slightly downhill as a whole, with only two small uphill climbs, offering the pleasure of pedaling through the mountains without pedaling too much. This valley is not served by train or highways, and has remained relatively quiet and safe from the large tourist flows. The river we skirt, also called Turano, gradually swells until it becomes a fjord, the southern branch of the lake: its contours are often foggy, humid and disturbing. We thus arrive at the two villages of Castel di Tora and Colle di Tora, which look at each other from the two shores of the lake, and the ruins of the castle of Antuni, piled up on a small island near the bridge that joins the two sides. After Colle di Tora there are the only slopes to face to get to the Turano dam: a few hairpin bends in the woods, and we are at the gigantic concrete wall that holds back the course of the river. It is worth a small detour to the villages of Rocca Sinibalda, where the impressive Sforza Cesarini Castle stands, originally from the eleventh century, and Posticciola, an original Roman outpost and transhumance passage. From here on it is all downhill: we lose the altitude gained on a road snubbed by traffic, to easily cover the last flat kilometers towards the Sabine capital.