Narni

Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and comune of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. It is very close to the geographic center of Italy.[3] There is a stone on the exact spot with a sign in multiple languages.[4]

Narni
Comune
Comune di Narni
Central square in Narni.
Coat of arms
Location of Narni
Narni
Location of Narni in Italy
Narni
Narni (Umbria)
Coordinates: 42°31′N 12°31′E
CountryItaly
RegionUmbria
ProvinceTerni (TR)
FrazioniNarni Scalo, Borgaria, Capitone, Guadamello, Gualdo, Itieli, La Cerqua, Montoro, San Faustino, San Liberato, Sant'Urbano, San Vito, Schifanoia, Taizzano, Vigne
Government
 • MayorFrancesco De Rebotti (PD)
Area
 • Total197 km2 (76 sq mi)
Elevation
240 m (790 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2017)[2]
 • Total19,252
 • Density98/km2 (250/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Narnesi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)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

History

The area around Narni was already inhabited in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages, as attested by finds in some of the caves. Around the start of the first millennium the Osco-Umbrian, a people with a language of Indo-European origin that dominated the left bank of the Tiber that vertically cuts the region to 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 in this key point of the Via Flaminia the famous road which connected the city of Rome to the Adriatic Sea (at that time the road passed through the town descending to the right bank of the Nera to then carrying on to Carsulae, Acquasparta, Massa Martana and Spoleto). It supported the Gauls with the hope of freeing itself from Rome. The attempt failed and the victorious Romans changed its name to Narnia after the nearby Nar River; as in the case of Benevento, the former name was considered of ill augury: in Latin, nequeo means "I am unable", and nequitia means "worthlessness".

In 299 BC it became a Roman Municipality, and took the name Narnia. The recent discovery of an ancient Roman shipyard within its territory has made researchers supposing a particular importance during the Punic Wars.[5] In 209 BC, however, Narnia refused to help the Romans financially for their aim to carry on the war against Carthage. During the Roman times it was a strategical outpost for the Roman army.

The Roman Emperor Nerva was born at Narni in 30 AD.

Narnia is mentioned in an Early Christian list of "false gods" in first century Church father Tertullian's 'Apology', midway into Chapter 21. "Not even a human being would care to have unwilling homage rendered him and so the very Egyptians have been permitted the legal use of their ridiculous superstition, liberty to make gods of birds and beasts, nay, to condemn to death any One who kills a god of their sort. Every province even, and every city, has its god. Syria has Astarte, Arabia has Dusares, the Norici have Belenus, Africa has its Caelestis, Mauritania has its own princes. I have spoken, I think, of Roman provinces, and yet I have not said their gods are Roman for they are not worshipped at Rome any more than others who are ranked as deities over Italy itself by municipal consecration, such as Delventinus of Casinum, Visidianus of Narnia, Ancharia of Asculum, Nortia of Volsinii, Valentia of Ocriculum, Hostia of Satrium, Father Curls of Falisci, in honour of whom, too, Juno got her surname."

In Late Antiquity it suffered the events of the Greek-Gothic war and was plundered by Totila. Seat of a Lombard gastald, Narnia embraced the cause of Otho I of Saxony thanks to the mediation of its bishop, now Pope John XVII. Narni was part of the possessions of the Countess Matilde, once more part of the Dominions of the Church in 726. In 755 Fulrad went to "Rome carrying the keys of these towns, which he handed to the Pope [...]: Ravenna, Ariminum, Pisaurum, Conca, Fanus, Caesenae, Senogalliae, Esium, Forum Pompilii, Forum Livii, Narnia and others".[6] During the late 9th to early 10th century, Narni was, along with much of central Italy, a stronghold of, or threatened by the Saracens.[7][8]

From the 11th century it began to increase in wealth and power, was opposed to Pope Paschal II in 1112 and rose against Barbarossa in 1167. This insubordination cost Narni a ferocious repression imposed by the archbishop Christian of Mainz, Barbarossa's chancellor. In 1242 Narni, prevalently tied to the 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 Orsini to whom it returned in 1409. Occupied by King Ladislaus of Naples, in the 15th century, to be soon again reabsorbed by the church, thanks to Braccio da Montone. July 15, 1527[9] marked a decisive turning-point in Narni's history. The troops of Charles V, mostly in fact the undisciplined Spanish soldiery and German mercenaries (Landsknechts), put the city to fire and sword; it lost its ancient prosperity. Even the inhabitants of Terni took advantage of the situation to deliver their blame to give vent to their long-repressed hatred of Narni. Its reconstruction gives it a physiognomy characteristic of the cities in Papal territory. It became part of the Roman Republic in 1789. In 1831 it joined the revolt against Gregory XVI and was annexed to the Italian Kingdom in 1860.

Main sights

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[10]) ever built, by which the Via Flaminia crossed the Nera. One arch of the bridge still stands; it is some 30 meters high.

Other sights include:

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][11]

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.

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Istat. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Istat. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. Narni – Journey to the Center of Italy. Goeurope.about.com. Retrieved on 2017-10-29.
  4. Narni Pictures – Italy Photo Gallery. Goeurope.about.com. Retrieved on 2017-10-29.
  5. Christian Armadori, Il Porto di Narnia e il Cantiere Navale Romano sul Fiume Nera, Ed. Quasar, 2012. Alvaro Caponi, I segreti del porto etrusco e il cantiere navale di Narnia: ritrovamenti unici al mondo: Villa Pompeia Celerina, Ricerca obiettivo, 2006.
  6. J.Sanidopoulos (2011-12-16). "MYSTAGOGY: The Carolingians and the Romans". Johnsanidopoulos.com. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  7. Peter Partner (1 Jan 1972). The Lands of St. Peter: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance (illustrated ed.). University of California Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780520021815.
  8. Ferdinand Gregorovius (10 Jun 2010). History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press. p. 262. ISBN 9781108015028.
  9. Narni. Key to Umbria. Retrieved on 2017-10-29.
  10. Structurae. "Ponte di Augusto (Narni) | Structurae". En.structurae.de. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  11. Holly Hartman. Narnia: A Look Back. factmonster.com


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