Rieti is a city of unspoilt nature, of crystal-clear waters and of the Cottorella Springs.

Cottorella, located about one kilometer from the ancient “Porta Romana” in the city of Rieti, is a spring that originates at the slopes of Monte Belvedere, a name which already implies the suggestion that the view from here creates in those who stop to admire the underlying Rieti valley, the Terminillo massif and the Velino river.

The existence of the spring was known since Roman times, who, despite having skilled doctors, had great confidence in water therapies, for which they were frequent visitors to the baths, even those located in the SabinA territory: Cotilia, Antrodoco, Farfa, Cottorella. The reason has to be found in the fact that a lot of Roman patrician and imperial families (such as Coriolana, Cotta, Clodia, Munia, Appia and Flavia) had splendid villas in this land, as attested by the historian Strabone.

Not only poets but also illustrious doctors, biologists, bacteriologists and chemists spoke of this spring, examining, analyzing, studying and cataloguing it for its organoleptic and healing properties; a large body of scientific documentation testifies its importance. The first chemical and bacteriological examination is dated 1911, carried out by Professor Tittarelli who decreed its purity and chemical constitution by calling it “rare quality water”.

Fonte Cottorella’s is a pure and light water which, thanks to the right balance of mineral salts and slightly alkaline pH, is ideal for those who practice sport, for hydroponic cure  and has no limit of consumption. The quality of the water is influenced by the absorption of nitrogen available in the soil and in the atmosphere. The woods are able to filter and reduce the concentrations of nitrogen in the water, that infiltrates the underground aquifers, but not all the woods react in the same way.

Broad-leaved forests have a greater filtering effect than those made up of pure coniferous species, as the soil is able to absorb greater quantities of nitrogen. It is in a so well-structured natural environment that special microorganisms are able to “work” for decomposing biological or chemical “pollutants”.
This activity is mainly visible in forest soils of broad-leaved forests that have developed in undisturbed conditions for a long time, such as those of the 2000 hectares of Monte Belvedere and Riserva di Sala, already present in the Gregorian cadastre of 1819. This precious resource, which has not been altered by man, is the true safe for the purity of Cottorella water which gushes out naturally and is absolutely pure as it gets to our tables with all those characteristics that make it the queen of mineral waters.

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