Canterano is a small town in the province of Rome, in Lazio, in the Upper Aniene Valley, on the border with Subiaco and the Simbruini Mountains, on a coast of the Ruffi Mountains, covered with olive trees and other Mediterranean vegetation. With less than 400 inhabitants, time seems to have stopped here. In these parts the presence of man has very ancient origins that even refer to the population of the Pelasgians, nomads from Mesopotamia who, passing through Syria, settled on the Lazio coasts up to the heights of the Aniene Valley: the remains of ancient polygonal walls confirm this thesis, and right near these remains it is possible to enter deep underground caves that were used as a shelter by the populations who have inhabited these places for millennia.

Things to see and do in Canterano

The historic center allows you to admire the monasteries of San Benedetto and Santa Scolastica from above, as well as the majestic Monte Livata; on days when the sky is clearer, it is possible to see the lower part of Subiaco, the upper part of Cervara and Monte Pillone. Piazza Roma, the beating heart of the village, is a small favor just a few steps from the Aniene river.

Here after mid-August there is a party with the "Sagra degli strozzapreti pizzicati". Good food and wild dances to put together a traditional dish from all the Regions that were once part of the Papal State, and lapizzica, a therapeutic music played by men to free the "pinched" from the bite of the taranta, a Salento term to indicate the tarantula, which during the harvest period had a reputation for pinching women under their clothes.

In the autumn period, in October, instead, it is the turn of the Truffle Festival, where the protagonist is strictly local black gold collected in the woods surrounding the village.

Foto: di Flycity2 - Opera propria (credits)