Narni

Coordinates: 42°31′N 12°31′E / 42.517°N 12.517°E / 42.517; 12.517
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Narni
Comune
Comune di Narni
Flag of Narni
Flag
Coat of arms of Narni
Coat of arms
Location of Narni
Map
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
05035–05036
Dialing code0744
Patron saintJuvenal of Narni
Saint dayMay 3
WebsiteOfficial website
Façade of the Communal Palace.
The Abbey of San Cassiano.
The Bridge at Narni by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1826

Narni (

Latin: Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and comune (municipality) of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 metres (790 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the River Nera in the province of Terni. It is very close to the geographical centre of Italy.[3] There is a stone on the exact spot with a sign in multiple languages.[4]

History

The area around Narni was already inhabited in the

Adriatic sea
, settled in the area and called the town Nequinum. Records mention Nequinum as early as 600 BC.

The Romans conquered Nequinum in the 4th century BC and made it a position of force at a key point of the

Latin
: nequeo means 'I am unable', and nequitia means 'worthlessness'.

During Roman times the town was a strategic outpost for the Roman army. In 299 BC it became a Roman Municipality and took the name Narnia. The rediscovery, in the late 20th – early 21st century, of an ancient Roman shipyard within its territory has made researchers hypothesise its particular importance during the Punic Wars.[5] In 209 BC, however, Narnia refused to help the Romans financially with their aim of continuing the war against Carthage.

The

Roman Emperor Nerva
was born at Narni in 30 AD.

Narnia is mentioned in an

Hostia of Satrium, Father Curls of Falisci, in honour of whom, too, Juno
got her surname.

In

Saracens.[8][9]

From the 11th century it began to increase in wealth and power, was opposed to Pope

Guelph party, entered into an alliance with Perugia
and Rome against the Empire.

In the following century it was included in the reconquest of the papal patrimony by

Cardinal Albornoz
, who also had the mighty Rocca built. It was the work of Ugolino di Montemarte, known as il Gattapone. He was also author of the plans for the Loggia dei Priori and the Colonnade that faces out onto the Piazza dei Priori together with the 13th-century Palazzo del Podestà and the 14th-century fountain.

In 1373 Narni was given as fief to the

Gregory XVI and was annexed to the Italian Kingdom
in 1860.

Monuments and sites of interest

Like many of the smaller towns of Umbria, Narni is still of strikingly medieval appearance today, with stone buildings, and narrow cobblestone streets. The town is famous for one of the largest Roman bridges (

Ponte d'Augusto[11]) ever built, by which the Via Flaminia
crossed the Nera. One arch of the bridge still stands; it is some 30 metres (98 ft) high.

Religious

There are a number of historical churches in the town:

Secular and civic

  • Communal Palace (13th century)
  • Palazzo dei Priori, located in the ancient Roman forum's site
  • Rocca Albornoziana (or, Albornoz' Castle), overlooking the town, now hosting temporary exhibitions
  • Eroli Museum with a Domenico Ghirlandaio's altarpiece[12]

Narnia and C. S. Lewis

The imaginary land of

Narnia, described in the works of C. S. Lewis, was named after Narni after he came across the name in an atlas as a child.[3][13]

Concerning Narnia and Narni Roger Lancelyn Green writes about C.S. Lewis and Walter Hooper:

When Walter Hooper asked [C.S. Lewis] where he found the word 'Narnia', Lewis showed him Murray's Small Classical Atlas, ed.G.B. Grundy (1904), which he acquired when he was reading the classics with Mr Kirkpatrick at Great Bookham [1914–1917]. On plate 8 of the Atlas is a map of ancient Italy. Lewis had underscored the name of a little town called Narnia, simply because he liked the sound of it. Narnia — or 'Narni' in Italian — is in Umbria, halfway between Rome and Assisi.
Narnia, a small medieval town, is situated at the top of an olive-covered hill. It was already ancient when the Romans defeated it in 299 BC. Its thirteenth-century fortress dominates a deep, narrow gorge of the Nera river which runs below. One of its most important archaeological features is a Romanesque cathedral, which contains the relics of a number of Umbrian saints.

People

See also

References

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Narni - Journey to the Center of Italy". Goeurope.about.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Narni Pictures - Italy Photo Gallery". Goeurope.about.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  5. ISBN 9788871405094
    .
  • doi:10.1525/sla.2022.6.2.284
    .
  • ^ Alexander Hourani (16 December 2011). "The Carolingians and the Romans". Mystagogy Resource Centre. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  • ISBN 9780520021815
    .
  • ISBN 9781108015028
    .
  • ^ Narni. Key to Umbria. Retrieved on 2017-10-29.
  • ^ "Ponte di Augusto (Narni)". Structurae: International Database and Gallery of Structures (in German, English, and French). Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  • ^ "Palazzo Eroli: La storia di Narni racchiusa in un Palazzo". Archeoares (in Italian). 27 April 2023. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023.
  • ^ Holly Hartman. "Narnia: A Look Back". factmonster.com. Accessed 9 August 2023.

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