Narni

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Narni
Comune
Comune di Narni
Central square in Narni.

Coat of arms
Narni
Location of Narni in Italy
Coordinates: 42°31′N 12°31′E / 42.517°N 12.517°E / 42.517; 12.517
Country Italy
Region Umbria
Province Terni (TR)
Frazioni Narni Scalo, Borgaria, Capitone, Guadamello, Gualdo, Itieli, La Cerqua, Montoro, San Faustino, San Liberato, Sant'Urbano, San Vito, Schifanoia, Taizzano, Vigne
Government
 • Mayor Francesco De Rebotti (PD)
Area
 • Total 197 km2 (76 sq mi)
Elevation 240 m (790 ft)
Population (May 31, 2008)
 • Total 20,385
 • Density 100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Demonym Narnesi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 05035 - 05036
Dialing code 0744
Patron saint Juvenal of Narni
Saint day May 3
Website Official website
Façade of the Communal Palace.
The Abbey of San Cassiano.
The Bridge at Narni by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1826

Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and comune of Umbria, in central Italy, with 20,100 inhabitants, according to the 2003 census. 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.[1] There is a stone on the exact spot with a sign in multiple languages.[2]

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.[3] 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 35 AD.

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".[4]

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, 1525 marked a decisive turning-point in Narni's history. The troops of Charles V, mostly in fact the undisciplined Spanish soldiery and German mercenaries (Landsknechten), 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[5]) 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:

  • Duomo (Cathedral).
  • Eroli Museum with a Domenico Ghirlandaio's altarpiece.
  • Church of Santa Maria Impensole.
  • Communal Palace (13th century).
  • Palazzo dei Priori, located in the ancient Roman forum's site.
  • Rocca Albornoziana (Albornoz' Castle), overlooking the town, now hosting temporary exhibitions.
  • Romanesque church of Santa Pudenziana, just outside the town.
  • Church of Sant'Agostino, decorated with 18th-century tromp-l'oeil frescoes.
  • Benedictine abbey of San Cassiano.

Narnia

The imaginary land of Narnia, described in the works of C. S. Lewis, has been named after Narni after he came across the name in an atlas as a child.[1][6]

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 shoved 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 beween 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 archeological features is a Romanesque cathedral, which contains the relics of a number of Umbrian saints.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Narni - Journey to the Center of Italy
  2. ↑ Narni Pictures - Italy Photo Gallery
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ J.Sanidopoulos (2011-12-16). "MYSTAGOGY: The Carolingians and the Romans". Johnsanidopoulos.com. Retrieved 2013-03-26. 
  5. ↑ Structurae. "Ponte di Augusto (Narni) | Structurae". En.structurae.de. Retrieved 2013-03-26. 
  6. ↑ Narnia: A Look Back

External links


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