Underground Narni: Art and Mystery Beneath the City
Narni Sotterranea offers a unique experience through an exciting and mysterious journey. The trip into the heart of underground Narni begins beneath the convent complex of San Domenico. Among ancient walls and a centuries-old cistern, the frescoes of a medieval chapel, now dedicated to Archangel Michael, have emerged beneath a spectacular glass floor, allowing visitors to walk suspended above the ancient foundations.
After the experience in the underground of San Domenico, an evocative immersion into the spelunking landscape materializes with a visit to the Formina Aqueduct. The final stop on this underground journey through Narni is the “Cisterna del Lacus.” After the decline of the Roman Empire, the Formina Aqueduct stopped supplying the city, forcing the community to rely on cisterns for rainwater. Beneath the current Piazza Garibaldi, the most imposing of these survives—the Lacus, a medieval reservoir with vaulted ceilings and an opus spicatum floor.
To conclude the visit, lose yourself in the alleys and squares of central Italy, exploring the Cathedral of San Giovenale, the museum and art gallery of Palazzo Eroli, Beata Lucia, and Rocca Albornoz.
Visit the Speco di San Francesco with frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries, the Abbey of San Cassiano, and the Proto-Romanesque churches of Santa Pudenziana and San Martino, the Augustus Bridge, the Gorges of the Nera, the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Ponte, and the evocative Cardona Bridge, located at the Geographical Center of Peninsular Italy.
The Rocca Albornoz and the Roman Augustus Bridge, built in 27 BC, are gems not to be missed just outside the city.
Narni’s event calendar is filled with activities.
Among the must-sees: the Corsa all’Anello, from the end of April to the second Sunday of May. A medieval celebration with a centuries-old tradition, and the Corsa delle Carrette: in September, an original race of non-motorized carts that animates the streets of Narni from Piazza Garibaldi to Via Bardozzo.