GTL 9 Lazio from Tivoli to Arsoli

THE LOWER SABINA AND THE TIBURTINA 

The first Apennine stage of the GTL moves towards the border with Abruzzo, near the ancient Via Tiburtina Valeria: to this state road, built on the route of the Roman road commissioned by the consul who extended its course towards the Adriatic from Tibur (today Tivoli), however, the route prefers secondary roads on the other side of the Aniene, sometimes on dirt roads, others on paved roads with little traffic. The Aniene river is the constant of the entire stage: squeezed between the motorway and the state road, in fact, our route winds up and down in the valley carved by this tributary of the Tiber, once sacred to the Romans, in a humid and shady setting.We leave Tivoli by crossing the city gates and climbing imperceptibly towards the mountains: on the right the Lucretili complex and the Monte Catillo Nature Reserve, on the left the Simbruini. From the various villages on the Tiburtina there are countless hiking trails and detours to the peaks.Thus pass the villages and hamlets, built in white stone and increasingly similar to those of Abruzzo: Castel Madama, Vicovaro, Mandela, Pereto, and finally Roviano and Arsoli with their respective castles, a residue of a noble past. But the real tourist attraction of these areas is Nature, with its unspoiled woods and mountains.The difference in height is fluctuating but easy, the vegetation gradually becomes thicker, you gradually gain altitude and the Rome / Avezzano railway line is always there next to you for any problem. From Mandela there is also a route obtained from a former railway that leads to the beautiful Subiaco, certainly worthy of a detour