Narni () is an ancient hilltown and (municipality) of Umbria, in central Italy. At an altitude of , it overhangs a narrow gorge of the River Nera in the province of Terni. It is very close to the geographical centre of Italy."Narni – Journey to the Center of Italy" . Goeurope.about.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017. There is a stone on the exact spot with a sign in multiple languages."Narni Pictures – Italy Photo Gallery" . Goeurope.about.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
Etymology Narni, ancient Narnia (Greek: Ναρνία), derived its name from the nearby river Nera (or Nar). Before the Roman conquest it appears to have been called Nequinum.
In the 19th century, the scholar Adone Palmieri attributed the ancient name Nequinum to the Latin nequitia, referring to the supposed ferocity of its early inhabitants.
History Antiquity Narni was an important Umbrian city. In 300 BC it was besieged by the consul ; the inhabitants resisted vigorously, and the siege continued into the following year, when the city was taken by the consul Marcus Fulvius, who celebrated a triumph over the Samnites and the people of Nequinum. The Roman Senate secured the conquest by establishing a colony there, named Narnia from the nearby Nera river.
The city is later listed among the thirty Latin colonies at the time of the Second Punic War. In 209 BC, having refused assistance to Rome along with other colonies, it was severely punished and compelled to provide a double military contingent and a considerable sum of money. During the same war Narni served as a strategic stronghold against the threatened advance of Hasdrubal toward Rome, and from there cavalrymen set out who were the first to bring news to Rome of the victory at the Battle of the Metaurus.
The rediscovery, in the late 20th century, of the Roman shipyard of Stifone within its territory has made researchers hypothesize its particular importance during the Punic Wars.
In the Republican period Narni appears as a flourishing municipium and one of the principal centers of Umbria, its prosperity attributed to its position on the Via Flaminia and to the fertility of the surrounding countryside, especially the . It belonged to the Papiria tribe.
During the civil wars between Vespasian and Vitellius, Narni was occupied by the Vitellians as a strongly fortified position.
Christianity was introduced to Narni through Saint Felician, bishop of Foligno, and especially Saint Juvenal of Carthage, who became its first bishop in 368 or 369 by decree of Pope Damasus I.
Early Middle Ages In the period after the end of Roman rule Narni faced barbarian invasions. Its commanding position over the Via Flaminia also gave it importance during the wars of Belisarius and Narses against the Goths.
Narni was contested by the Exarchate of Ravenna and the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto in the late 6th century as the city controlled the southern reaches of the Via Flaminia, an essential route between Rome and Ravenna.
Saint Cassius, who also held the episcopate of Terni, was a distinguished bishop; during his time Totila devastated and plundered Narni. He was regarded as a man of great intellect and deep religiosity, and was adopted as advocate and patron of the city.
In the pontificate of Gregory II, after 726, Narni, then part of the Duchy of Rome, passed under papal rule when the duchy submitted to the Roman Church. Liutprand, king of the Lombards, occupied the city, but Pope Zachary obtained its restitution in 741 together with its territory. Aistulf, also king of the Lombards, likewise seized territories of the Church including Narni, but was compelled to restore them by King Pepin at the request of Pope Stephen III.
In 755 Fulrad went to "Rome carrying the keys of these towns, which he handed to the Pope".
During the late 9th to early 10th century, Narni was, along with much of central Italy, threatened by the Saracens.
In 958 Narni formed a Lombard gastaldate. By 1143 Narni had become a self-governing municipality with its own statutes.
High and Late Middle Ages Conrad offered homage and tribute for certain Church lands he held, but, having been refused by Pope Innocent III, he was compelled to restore them and swore obedience at Narni in the presence of the papal legate, the barons, and the people. The pope confirmed the privileges of the cities thus restored. Narni alone required military intervention; the conflict ended with the restitution of the fortresses, a levy for the walls, a fine, and renewed submission to Innocent III. Conrad was then required to return to Germany, after which the pope was able to visit the Duchy of Spoleto.
In the early 13th century it sought to block Terni's resurgence after Frederick Barbarossa, taking Monte Sant'Angelo and Papigno, key points on the road to Rieti, and entering a prolonged conflict over the castle of Stroncone. In 1209 Pope Innocent III placed Narni under interdict. In 1215 the same pope compelled the rebuilding of Stroncone; Otricoli, after being captured and razed, and San Gemini were placed under direct Church control.
In 1216 the Roman noble Pietro Annibaldi, brother-in-law of Innocent III, was podestà of Narni. In 1242 the citizens, like those of Perugia, swore fidelity to the Roman people.
In 1241 Narni was besieged by Emperor Frederick II, but the municipality held out; it later faced further attacks by Rinaldo, the imperial Duke of Spoleto. During the 14th century Narni continued its push toward Stroncone and the forts of Carlea and Perticara, and it repeatedly went to war with Terni, with papal troops and papal legates intervening more than once. In 1353 the town was taken by Egidio Albornoz, and in 1367 he built a fortress there; from Narni he began the reorganisation of the Papal State. In 1371 the municipal statutes were renewed.
In 1373 Narni came under the Orsini. Pope Boniface IX passed through Narni on 17 October 1392 on his way to Perugia and stayed there again on his return the following year. In 1396 many rebels returned to obedience to the Church and were reconciled by order of the pope through the bishop of Narni, , who also held the fortress and the city in fief.
In 1403 Narni was taken by King Ladislaus. In 1409 it was granted in vicariate to Bertoldo Orsini, though some attribute the grant to Paolo Orsini. Braccio da Montone occupied the city in 1419 and later restored it to Pope Martin V. In 1431 Narni received its first papal governor, Bartolo Carloni.
Early Modern era
A major turning point in Narni's decline came in 1527, when returning Landsknechts after the Sack of Rome invaded. Narni resisted but was besieged and heavily looted, with Terni assisting in the siege. From that time Narni did not recover its former greatness. Around 1530 it was found largely deserted and in a state of desolation.
Recovery after 1527 was slow despite papal promises of aid and funding; Pope Paul III and Pope Pius IV confirmed tax breaks and privileges intended to support rebuilding of the walls and aqueducts. In 1560 further measures were granted, including tax exemptions and other relief for new settlers. In 1591 a plague outbreak further weakened the town.
In the 17th and 18th centuries the Narni area came under full Church control.
Pope Clement XI later promoted local industry by constructing an ironworks near the city for processing ore from nearby mines. In 1782 Pope Pius VI visited Narni on his journey to Vienna.
Contemporary period
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries Narni experienced revolutionary upheavals, was placed under the Roman Republic, and was assigned under Spoleto as an administrative center before coming under the Napoleonic Empire.
Pope Pius VII was present in 1800 and again in May 1804 on his return from Paris. In 1809, during Napoleonic rule, the Narni canton was placed in the Rieti district.
After the Restoration, in 1824 Pope Leo XII added Narni to the Spoleto and Rieti Delegation in the Terni district. It became the seat of a governor, with Borgaria, Montoro, San Liberato, Stifone, and Taizzano attached to it.
In 1860 Narni formed a municipal committee of the Roman provinces linked to Florence to coordinate local patriots. On 21 September 1860 the papal insignia were taken down at the town hall. On 28 September 1860, after the Piedmontese army captured the fortress, the last papal stronghold.
Geography Narni stands on the left bank of the Nera, about from its confluence with the Tiber. It rises above sea level on a hill whose slopes descend toward the valley, the town itself standing above the valley floor and near high mountains. The surrounding landscape includes wooded areas and the fertile watered by the Nera.
The city rises on a rock and is surrounded by views of mountains. It overlooks the Terni valley, known as the Piano di Terni, near the historical boundary between Sabina and Umbria. It lies from Terni and from Rome.
The Via Flaminia passes through the city and, outside it, is cut into the living rock. The road was formerly very steep but has been made more gradual in more recent times.
The streets are somewhat narrow and steep, and some retain the character of the Middle Ages.
The surrounding territory is very fertile, especially in the valley irrigated by the waters of the Nera, producing cereals, wine, and fruit. The hills are covered with olive groves yielding excellent oil, and woodland products are also present. The climate is temperate, tending toward cold, with north and south winds prevailing.
Gole del Nera
The Gole del Nera form a part of the territory valued for its natural landscape. A path follows the former railway line along the Nera River for about on the disused route. The itinerary is used for trekking, running, mountain biking, horseback riding, and canoeing, aided by artificial landings along the river from the area of Funara to Le Mole in the territory of Nera Montoro.
The area, upstream from the ecological oasis of Lago di San Liberato, is noted especially for birdlife. Its rocky walls host a resident population of blue rock thrush and provide refuge for nocturnal and diurnal birds of prey. Woods of holm oak and manna ash also shelter many migratory species, including wood pigeons, thrushes, blackbirds, jays, and other passerines.
The former railway through the Gole del Nera has been reused as a route for outdoor activities along the river and through a landscape that also preserves Roman and medieval remains.
Subdivisions The municipality includes the localities of Altrocanto, Borgaria, Capitone, Castelchiaro, Castello, Castelvecchio, Cipiccia Vecchia, Colle di Sopra, Colle Palazzo, Erbapigia, Fabbrucciano, Fiaiola, Guadamello, Gualdo, Itieli, La Cerquetta, Madonna delle Treie, Madonna Scoperta, Mallione, Maratta, Massa, Miriano, Montini, Montoro, Moricone, Narni, Narni Scalo, Nera Montoro, Ponte San Lorenzo, San Faustino, San Liberato, San Mauro, San Pellegrino, San Vito, Sant'Urbano, Schifanoia, Stifone, Taizzano, Testaccio, Vigne, Visciano.
In 2021, 3,921 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality. At the time, the most populous localities was Narni Scalo (4,672), followed by Narni proper (4,505). The following localities had no recorded permanent residents: Convento Lo Speco.
Economy In the 19th century the territory reportedly produced cereals, wine, fruit, olive oil, and woodland resources. There was an abundant quarry of pozzolana, and ironworks established under Pope Clement XI were present.
Near the course of the Nera, at a short distance from the railway station, industrial establishments had developed in the late 19th century, including those of the Società Anonima for leather tanning and the factory of Pirelli for the processing of caoutchouc and rubber.