A small town of the Sabina area, in the province of Rieti, which was also known as "Canemorto" (dead dog) until 1863. The origins of the town's name are uncertain, according to some scholars, in fact, it derives by the exclamation of the people to the news of the death of a local tyrant, while according to others, from the heavy defeat inflicted by the troops of Charlemagne to the Saracens, battle in which, the Moors lost their commander ("Khan"). The current name, however, was given in the belief that the town arose where once was located the ancient Sabine-Roman city of "Orvinium", mentioned by Terentius Varro and Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
Having been ruled, for a long period, by the Benedictine monks of Santa Maria del Piano, until 1558, when it was ceded in fief to the Orsini, and later to the Estouteville, the Muti and finally the Prince Marcantonio Borghese.
Sites of Interest:
- the Church of Santa Maria of the Recommended, dating from the XVI century, inside which are preserved several artworks by the local artist Vincenzo Manenti;
- the remains of defensive walls and the castle, built around the year 1000 and remodeled in the XVI century by the Orsini;
- the historical main center.