What to do in Umbria became less obvious after I had a nasty accident the night before and my knee was hurting. We had to change our plans.

Instead of hiking, we decided to visit Narnia, the town that inspired C.S. Lewis to write “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

What to do in Umbria – visiting Narni

Firstly, we spent some time admiring the Bridge of Augustus, or rather, what remained of it. And quite a lot of it remains. We parked near the small bridge and walked to the ruins, but you can get there closer by car or very close by bike, as a cycling and pedestrian route runs along the river.

The Bridge of Augustus was built around 27 BC to tame the River Nera and remained passable for centuries.

The structure originally consisted of four spans and a roadway with two carriageways and two sidewalks. The bridge rose over 30 meters above the river, was 8 meters wide, and 130 meters long. Impressive, isn’t it?

Built with large blocks of travertine square and ashlar, Ponte d’Augusto was one of the largest Roman bridges. No wonder it was a popular destination of the Grand Tour.  According to chronicles from the Middle Ages, this amazing bridge started collapsing due of floods and earthquakes. 

Today, only the first and largest arch (it’s really big) remains standing, along with a few fragments from the original structure; however, it has also suffered damage from recent earthquakes. Still, the remains of the bridge are majestic and fill everyone with awe at the engineering prowess of the ancient constructors. At least that’s how I felt, and yet I felt small as I gazed at the still-standing arch. For me, the Augustus Bridge should be a must-see if you’re thinking of what to see in Umbria.

Following the bicycle-walking path, you can also visit a fountain and a monaster; we skipped these points and moved to Narni.

Narni – a bit of history

Narni, originally called Nequinum, was conquered by the Romans and renamed Narnia. Changing rulers, it was governed by the church for a time. Frederick Barbarossa ended the city’s early medieval prosperity by conquering it. Since then, Narni has been attacked, occupied, attacked, occupied, and so on; a fairly common story for many places in Italy.

In the 17th century it became part of the Papal States; except for a short Napoleonic period, until the unification of Italy.

What to see in Narni

Narni welcomed us with the magnificent Porta Ternana gate, built in the 15th century, but it’s not the only medieval monument in the city. There are quite a few: the Cathedral of San Giovenale with its Romanesque portal and votive chapel; the Church of San Domenico, which now houses a library and the Historical Archives; and the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria Imprensole.

Piazza dei Priori, considered one of the most beautiful squares in Umbria, boasts the Palazzo del Podestà, now the town hall, adorned with Roman and medieval marble.

From the main street, you can reach the viewpoint (follow the signs); going there, you’ll pass the former monastery complex of San Domenico and the church, which are part of the Narni Underground Experience. Bad luck, but it was Ferragosto and a lot of Italians were visiting Narni, so all tickets were sold out. We were told it was best to book in advance.

Narni Underground, a thousand-year-old city nestled underground, awaits our next visit. It’s a shame, because I think it’s truly fascinating. It boasts aqueducts, water cisterns, tunnels, crypts, and even a torture chamber from the Inquisition, complete with a cell adorned with graffiti painted by tortured prisoners awaiting their sentence.

Well, next time, because I like Narni and will visit it again. The city is not only interesting, but also, thanks to Italian tourists, the atmosphere is very lively.

We also didn’t visit the Albornoz Fortress (Rocca Albornoziana), which dominates the town, even though we did get there. You can walk there from Narni, which we did, or go by car. Recently restored, it was built in the second half of the 14th century. The entrance fee is 10 euros: the castle is complete, meaning there are walls, rooms, etc., and inside there’s an exhibition of modern art. This is a problem with many Italian castles – there are only buildings, and no interesting exhibits inside. And since I’ve seen many truly interesting fortresses and castles, and I wasn’t crazy enough to pay 10 euros for modern art, we decided to skip it.

The geographical center of Italy .

Somewhat disappointed, we decided to see the geographical center of Italy.
If you’re driving there, pay attention to the road signs and follow them. Don’t rely on your GPS, as it showed us a roundabout; we did a bit of it, and then simply followed the sign. You can also walk the ancient Formina Way (Sentiero della Formina), which begins just outside the walls of Narni. You can walk the entire length of the Roman aqueduct at Formina, all the way to its source, located below the village of Sant’Urbano. After about 3 km, you’ll reach the Geographic Center of Italy near Ponte Cardona.

If, however, you don’t feel like doing such a hike, simply park your car near the entrance to the path, which is located in the forest, and enjoy the walk. The track is flat and very easy; when you reach Ponte Cardona, it’s impossible to miss the tree stump marking the geographical center of the Italian peninsula.

Papigno

In the late afternoon returned to Papigno and decided to visit the place where we were staying. We often forget to visit the place where we’ve stayed, but this time we did. Papigno is a great base for exploring the surrounding towns, as everything is close by.

In fact, historically, its strategic location ensured control of two important routes in the then-current road system: the Valnerina and the Via Curia, the latter leading to Rieti, connecting Valnerina with Marmore and Piediluco. The castle was purchased by the municipality of Terni from the Arroni family in  the 13th century.

A lof of buildings in Papigno are form 19th century, and some of which belonged to wealthy families.

Those are the facts, now for my impressions. Papigno is very small; there is one bar (at least we saw one) where social life takes place. The second social gathering place is located at the gate, at the entrance to the burg. In this case, it’s occupied by rather elderly gentlemen; they come there with their chairs (though if I remember correctly, there are benches), sit, and gossip. They spend hours chatting, watching the few passersby, the occasional car passing by, and basking in the sun.

The Borgo is pleasant, even if it was getting dark when we walked. The narrow streets, stone houses, and cozy nooks are what I like. And since it’s not a tourist destination, we were something of a sensation; the locals stared at us in a friendly, curious way. And because trangers don’t usually visit, some doors were wide open, and local pets roamed the neighborhood. When dogs started barking at us, the owners would rush out to see what was happening, explaining that it was always like this because no one came here.

Sometimes it annoys me when Italians stare at me (and they do it so brazenly that I want to say, “What?”), but on the other hand, it really does give you a glimpse of authentic Italy, so you should visit places where tourists (especially foreigners) are still an attraction/experience. So if you ask me what to do in Umbria… I’d say places like Papigno and Narni are worth a visit.

The next day, we decided to spend some time near the water. It was time for the waterfall.