Narni e' Narnia

Qualcuno restera' sorpreso di sapere che C.S.Lewis prese il nome di NARNIA da una antica città in Italia chiamata ora Narni. NARNIA AND NARNI Some people may be surprised to know that C. S. Lewis took the name of 'Narnia' from an ancient Roman town in the Italian province of Umbria. An incident in the Punic Wars took place there.
NARNIA AND NARNI Some people may be surprised to know that C. S. Lewis took the name of 'Narnia' from an ancient Roman town in the Italian province of Umbria. An incident in the Punic Wars took place there. The Italian city on the site today is called 'Narni'. Narni now has a web page at http://www.narnia.it In December 1996, WALTER HOOPER wrote; 'It will perhaps surprise you to hear that I spent a day (in Narni/Narnia) in October (1996). In fact, this was my second trip, as my godson and I were there first five years ago. C. S. Lewis came across the name 'Narnia' in a classical atlas he used as a boy, and continued to use it all his life. I have it now, and it's interesting to see that he underscored the name when he first saw it back in about 1914. In Italian Narnia is called 'Narni', and it's under that name that you will find it on modern maps. It was already a very ancient town when the Romans conquered it in about 299 BC. In a little history of the place, it is stated that 'Although Neolithic people lived in this region, the first historical document, mentioning the town, is dated 600 BC, when Nequinum and its inhabitants are mentioned. In 299 BC, Narni was a Roman colony under the name of Narnia, a name that comes from the Nar river, which today is called the Nera.' For me one of the most surprising things about Narnia is that a very popular local saint is called 'Blessed Lucy of Narnia.' She was a Dominican nun of the 16th century, but whether Lewis had ever heard of her I don't know. My godson, to whom the Lewis COMPANION is dedicated, and I first went there in October 1991. We knew about Blessed Lucy of Narnia, but we didn't know whether she was still remembered by the inhabitants of Narnia. To our delight, she is buried in a beautiful chapel attached to the 12th century cathedral of Narnia, and is very popular in that area… But - oh! - what a beautiful place Narnia is. It's only about 50 miles north-east of Rome, and very easy to get to by train, or car. So far it remains unvisited by tourists, and so I've never encountered crowds there on my two visits.' LYNDA OCHSNER writes: 'Ford's _Companion to Narnia_ also notes that Lewis may have read at least seven references to Narnia in Latin literature, including four mentions of Narnia in Livy's _History_. Other references include Tacitus' _Annals_, and Pliny the Elder's comment in _Natural History_ about Narnia's unusual weather (it became drier during the rainy season). A seventh is "Pliny the Younger's letter to his mother-in-law, in which he mentions the excellence of the accommodations of her villa at Narnia, especially its beautiful baths." Apparently Lewis only mentions this last reference, in a letter to Arthur Greeves and published in _They Stand Together_. di narnia | 27/01/2004