Greccio

At Christmas 1223 Saint Francis staged the first living Nativity in a cave near this hill town, and the friars' sanctuary built around it still clings to a rock face among holm oaks. The village, 705 metres up on the edge of the Rieti plain, keeps three of its six medieval towers, a nativity museum and 26 murals by international artists along its lanes.

Highlights

• The Franciscan sanctuary and its Cappella del Presepio, built in 1228
• Museo Internazionale del Presepio, in the restored church of Santa Maria
• Sentiero degli Artisti, an open-air trail of 26 Franciscan-themed murals
• Church of San Michele at the top of a flight of steps
• The Cappelletta at 1,205 metres, overlooking the whole Rieti valley

Summary based on Wikipedia and Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA), written with AI assistance.