About 25 Kilometers outside Rieti along the Via Salaria there is the cut-off road for Monteleone Sabino. The village retains the medieval structures going back to its firts development in the 11th Century and the fortifications that ensued. Everywhere in the surrounding countryside there can be found archeological remains of the Sabine - Roman town of Trebula Mutuesca. The village's modern name  ( Lion Montain) would seem to derive from the many stone lions that are easily found in the surrounding area. Two such can be found on columns in Plazza XXIV Aprile and another two at the entrance to the hospice run by the Roman Santo Spirito Hospital, before entering the Plazza XXIV Aprile one can enjoy a splendit view of the valley below from a graceful belvedere. Interesting examples of Romanesque architecture to be found in Central Italy is the Church of Santa Vittoria, a Roman noblewoman martyred in 253 A.D. under the Emperor Decius. There are reports going back to the 8th Century of a Sacred building situated near the tomb of the saint, but the building we have before us today was constructed in the 11th Century the church was to becoma part of a convent complex whose dimensionswe unfortunately do not know. In the 10th Century bell-tower there is one of the oldest bells in Italy dated 1223.

Things to see: Church Santa Vittoria - Archeological Museum - Roman Amphitheater - Middle Age Village - Archeological sites Trebula Mutuesca.

The church of Saint Vittoria is closely related to the Roman town of Trebula Mutuesca. A small catacomb, situated under the belfry, which extends under the nearby hill by means of a narrow tunnel, reminds us of the cult of Saint Vittoria. According to tradition, the martyr was buried in a strigil sarcophagus preserved at the entrance of the tomb. At the far side of the central nave we can see a well whose water is considered a panacea by the local religious population. The beautiful Romanesque façade leads to an atrium and the entrance to the asymmetric triple-naved church. the right nave is divided by means of large crozier shaped columns made of different elements, while the left nave is composed of simple pilasters. Two walled iscriptions, which can be seen inside the building, remind us that in the twelfth century the church underwent a series of visible restorations on the order of the bishop of Rieti, Dodone. During the construction of the church together with the bell tower, a quantity of re-used material, architectural fragments and inscriptions gathered from the nearby Roman ruins, were re-employed and placed on the open space in front of the building.