Narnia
Narnia is a historical city located in Umbria, central Italy, perched above the gorge of the river Nar (Nera). Originally a Sabine town known as Nequinum, it was captured by the Romans in 299 BC and renamed Narnia, derived from the river's name. The city became significant in 220 BC when it was established as a station on the Via Flaminia, a crucial Roman road linking Rome to Ariminum (modern Rimini). Narnia played a role in the Second Punic War and experienced growth after the conflict, receiving new colonists in 199 BC. The city is notable for the Ponte di Augusto, an impressive Roman bridge that has survived through the ages. Despite modern developments obscuring much of its ancient topography, remnants of Narnia's historical engineering can still be traced today. Furthermore, the city is associated with significant events in Roman history, including the Civil Wars of 69 AD. Overall, Narnia represents a blend of ancient heritage and geographical significance within the context of Roman expansion and infrastructure.
Subject Terms
Narnia
(Narni)
A city in Umbria (central Italy) situated high above the gorge of the river Nar (Nera), beyond which the Sabine country began. Indeed, Narnia itself, before belonging to Rome, was a Sabine town, called Nequinum. In 299 BC it was captured by the consul Marcus Fulvius Paetinus and made into a Latin colony with the new name of Narnia (after the river) since the former designation Nequinum seemed too close to nequam (`worthless’).
Located in a position strengthening the northern defences of the Roman homeland, Narnia gained greatly in importance in 220 when it became a station on the Via Flaminia from Rome to Ariminum (Rimini). Shortly afterward, however, during the Second Punic War, it was one of the twelve Latin colonies that claimed in 209 that they could fight for the Roman cause no longer, owing to their exhausted condition. After the war, in 199, Narnia received a thousand new colonists.
The emperor Nerva (AD 96–98) was born in the city c 30, and it had a moment of historical importance during the Civil Wars of 69 when Vitellius planned to utilize this powerful site in order to make a stand against the invading force of Vespasian's general Marcus Antonius Primus. Losing confidence, however, Vitellius returned to Rome. When he did so, he left behind a strong force of praetorian troops and cavalry at Narnia; but they surrendered to his enemies shortly afterward.
The topography of the ancient city is little known, since modern buildings have overlaid it, but there are traces of the difficult engineering work that was needed to bring the Via Flaminia through this point. It was carried across the Nar by one of the most remarkable of Roman bridges—the hundred-and-fifty-foot high Ponte di Augusto—which spanned a distance of nearly five hundred feet. The first of its four arches still survives; the second, a hundred feet wide, was one of the largest of any Roman bridge. The Nar was navigable in ancient times, and Virgil refers to the whitish turbidity of its waters, due to its content of sulphur and lime.