The cells of the Inquisition
On a rocky spur overlooking the gorge of the Nera river, south of Terni, Narni is a medieval town of stone that claims to be the geographical centre of Italy, with the ancient Roman name of Narnia, which, according to some, inspired the English writer C.S. Lewis for the name of his fantasy world. Below the town, the remains of the Bridge of Augustus, one of the largest Roman bridges, built for the Via Flaminia, stand in the river. Every year in May, the town relives its medieval past with the Corsa all'Anello, a tournament in which knights on horseback try to thread a ring with their lance.
In 1979, a group of young speleologists from Narni, exploring the garden of the old Dominican convent, discovered a small opening that led them into a forgotten underground world, which today can be visited with the guided tour of Narni Sotterranea. The route includes a twelfth century Romanesque church, Santa Maria della Rupe, with frescoes of the angels and saints, a large Roman cistern and, above all, a series of rooms used by the Holy Office, the Inquisition, which had its tribunal in the convent: a hall where the trials were held, and the prison cell of the accused, whose walls are covered with mysterious graffiti, symbols, drawings and inscriptions, carved by the prisoners, in particular by a certain Giuseppe Andrea Lombardini, imprisoned here in 1759, who left a complex sequence of esoteric and religious symbols, still the subject of studies. The visit is one of the most fascinating experiences in Umbria.
Tip: the tour must be booked, especially at weekends; walk down to the Bridge of Augustus along the path below the town.
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