The story goes that when a colleague of C.S Lewis requested the place he had provide you with the identify for his imaginary world within the wardrobe, the writer confirmed him an atlas of historical Italy with the identify of a small city underlined. The city is Narni, then nonetheless presenting its Latinised identify Narnia , well-known in Italy for being its actual geographic heart, whereas being well-known internationally for giving its namesake to one of many best fantasy tales ever advised.
Whereas the writer by no means truly visited Narni, unusual coincidences pop up when discussing this connection. In 1979 a bunch of younger youngsters by chance stumbled upon the doorway to a complete underground system of interlinked chambers and cellars relationship from the Roman interval. This advanced is now generally known as “Narni Sotteranea”, which may be explored in its entirety from its entrance via a tunnel beginning within the church of San Domenico.
Umbria, Narni’s area, is among the most under-appreciated within the nation. That is additionally resulting from its relative isolation. It’s the solely landlocked area in central Italy and its terrain is sort of solely hilly. Resulting from its geography and previous as a part of the unstable border area between the Papal States and the unbiased city-states surrounding it, many cities in Umbria are constructed on high of hills in defensive positions, distinct in tradition, dialects and traditions from their counterparts in Tuscany, Lazio, Marche and Emilia-Romagna.
The primary landmark whereas nonetheless winding up the highway arriving to Narni is the “Ponte di Augusto”. A formidable instance of Roman bridge located on the crossroads of the traditional By way of Flaminia the 2000-year-old highway that hyperlinks Rome to Rimini. Narni is difficultly accessible by each automotive and public transport. It depends on elevators to get to the precise city. The native inhabitants makes use of these elevators even for probably the most fundamental items, with the one supermarkets positioned on the base of the hill in neighboring Narni Scalo.
To not fear although, the outdated city has many native shops or “botteghe” the place one can discover lots of the important meals of the area (Umbria is known for its prestigious pork and boar hams), together with: Capocollo, Guanciale, Porchetta from close by Norcia, Umbrian Mortadella, Coppa, Brasato and many, many different savoury delights.
By way of the 12 months the city alternates between busy to nearly abandoned, although vacationers and a indifferent campus of the College of Perugia maintain issues vigorous. This liveliness turns into palpable in late April and early Could because the “Corsa dell’Anello” takes place. Narni actually turns into a time machine. The locals don medieval costumes and take part within the titular race, which options jousters in full medieval armor trying to drive a lance into a hoop.
The city’s fundamental landmarks embrace the regal Palazzo dei Priori, the abbey of Saint Cassiano, the Duomo (the primary cathedral of the city) and the large Rocca Albornoz, a really majestic fortress well-known for resisting numerous assaults. The story behind this huge citadel is indicative of Umbria’s historical past of defending itself towards invaders. From Terni to Perugia, passing via Spoleto, Gubbio and Norcia. Egidio Albornoz, who offers his identify to the stronghold, was a 14 th century cardinal and “condottiero” (normal) of the Papal states and the person liable for fortifying the entire area with a system of related castles that protected Umbria for hundreds of years.
The relocation of College college students to the as soon as sleepy city set the stage for a burgeoning nightlife scene to develop within the space, with a myriad of bars largely located across the two fundamental piazzas. One locale that stands out for worldwide vacationers is the Seven Pub positioned in a slender alley capturing out of Piazza Dei Priori. The bar is massively standard with each college students and vacationers additionally because of the charms of the proprietor, Fabrizio. A rarity in Italy, the barman is an professional in all that’s beer (it have to be talked about that Umbria is one thing of a beer enclave surrounded nearly solely by wine nation). For extra beer but in addition cocktails, we’ve the marginally trendier Bar Arcomincio in Piazza Garibaldi.