L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano L ong before we'd ever heard about Harry what's-his- name, lovers of f a n t a s y a d v e n - ture have been whisked away to magical lands through C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950). The first of a series that has sold over 100 million copies worldwide, the book ranks in the top 10 of practically every "Best of Fantasy Books" list. S e t i n t h e m y t h i c a l l a n d of Narnia, four young sib- l i n g s s t u m b l e t h e i r w a y through a magical wardrobe into a realm filled with fan- tastical creatures and an epic struggle of good versus evil. It's just entertainment and perhaps thought-provoking fiction, correct? Perhaps, but there is more to the story of this story! C.S. Lewis creates an irresistible world, the land of Narnia, as the setting for h i s p o p u l a r c l a s s i c . Y o u might assume it's made up, the fruit of the author's vivid imagination, but wait...Nar- nia is real! While there may not be friendly giants, talking beavers, and an evil witch lurking about, the town origi- nally known as Civitas Nar- n i a e a n d n o w a s N a r n i , f l o u r i s h e s o n a n e m e r a l d Umbrian hilltop. Was this overlap of names coincidence…or something more? The townspeople of c o n t e m p o r a r y N a r n i c a n i r r e f u t a b l y p r o v i d e t h e answer to that! It had long b e e n s a i d t h a t C . S . L e w i s found inspiration to use the name Narnia based on a boy- hood experience. A preco- cious youth, Lewis immersed himself in Roman history, philosophy, and the classics. A favorite pastime was pour- ing over page after page of an old Murray Atlas featuring maps from antiquity. There h e f o u n d i t … t h e L a t i n n a m e C i v i t a s N a r n i a e — k n o w n t o t h e R o m a n s a s N a r n i a . H e l o v e d t h e sound of the word and lov- ingly underscored it to revis- it again and again. It wasn't until 2009, however, that solid proof was presented to N a r n i ' s c i t i z e n s . W a l t e r Hooper, Lewis' personal secretary and biographer, presented a copy of the origi- nal atlas featuring Lewis' underscoring…on Plate 8 to be exact...to Giuseppe For- tunati, Narni's local histori- an. And the rest…at least that part of the story…is his- tory. There is more lore to be uncovered, however, that could allude to additional Italian connections to this classic literary novel. C.S. Lewis never actually visited N a r n i , s u r p r i s i n g l y s o , despite his fascination with the name. While it may be a romantic stretch, one can't help but wonder if some- thing more mystical were at work that drew the author to this name, especially when a few coincidental anecdotes are brought to light. Ancient Narnia's origins go back to the Stone Age; however, it is not mentioned in literature until 600 BC when it was referred to as Nequinum. The town came under Roman rule and was given the name of Narnia after the nearby Nar River, which translates to "water that flows." Could this, too, have become a metaphor in Lewis' mind, an allegory to his storyline of life renewed in once-frozen Narnia? A p r i m a r y c h a r a c t e r in The Lion, the Witch, a n d t h e W a r d r o b e i s Aslan – The Great Lion and True King of Narnia. Seen as a n e m b l e m o f p o w e r a n d strength, Roman emperors always placed a statue of a lion outside their tent doors when on campaigns. Biblical r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s , a s w e l l , reflect might and vigor. C.S. Lewis would've been keenly aware of both symbologies, along with another influence – the 1930 unearthing of a Roman lion statue along the Via Flaminia, the ancient Roman road that transverses Narni. We might be overly poetic with these connec- tions, but they are certainly hard to ignore! Central to Lewis' theme of good overcoming evil, Aslan gives himself over to sacrifice on a great stone table to save y o u n g E d m u n d . T h e moment is of great impor- tance in the story, the table a c e n t r a l t e n a n t . I t ' s c o m - pelling to note that a large and very old stone table sits a l o n g s i d e t h e s a m e V i a Flaminia along Narni, an object known through the ages as a place of pagan sac- r i f i c e , b o t h a n i m a l a n d human. A hollowed channel, a crack, cuts across the top… a n o u t l e t f o r s a c r i f i c i a l blood. Coincidence? There's yet more to raise an eyebrow regarding coinci- dental events that may have s p a r k e d C . S . L e w i s ' r i c h imagination. The character o f L u c y P e v e n s i e , t h e youngest of the four children and the most unwavering believer in Narnia's magic, is said to be named after Lewis' g o d d a u g h t e r . N o t h i n g t o refute here, but it bears not- ing that the saint Blessed Lucy of Narnia (1476 – 1544) hails from Narni. A revered mystic, she is said to h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d m a n y visions and miracles; like lit- tle Lucy, she could see things others could not. Other bits and pieces can be sewn together to further strengthen the case connect- ing Lewis' fictional Narnia to I t a l y ' s N a r n i . G i u s e p p e Fortunati is a believer in these ties and readily points out other associations such as the cerulean blue waters of the Nar and Lewis' inclu- sion of a magical blue River of Narnia in his story. The river figures strategically, as well, in that the evil White Witch's hilltop castle over- looks the River of Narnia… just as Narni's impressive Rocca Albornoziano does the Nar. A symbol of wickedness and overlording, the witch's castle is perhaps an allegory to the Rocca and its origin d u r i n g a n o p p r e s s i v e e r a under the Avignon Papacy. While it's entertaining to make these suppositions, o n e s t a n d s o u t a s r a t h e r uncanny…and occurred long after C.S. Lewis penned his 1950 novel. It was 1979 and three young men from Narni with an interest in caving w e r e p r a c t i c i n g s c a l i n g a rock wall. Roberto Nini, the eldest of the three, slipped and landed square in a cab- bage patch below the wall where he was greeted by the disdain and scolding of an elderly gardener. Profuse apologies and explanations l e d t o a n i n v i t a t i o n t o explore behind an antiquat- ed barred door leading into the hillside. What the young men came upon, much like t h e f o u r c h i l d r e n i n T h e L i o n , t h e W i t c h , a n d t h e Wardrobe, was a forgotten r e a l m b e a r i n g w i t n e s s t o both good and evil. Beautiful ancient frescoes lay silently under hundreds of years of dust, the saints and Michael t h e A r c h a n g e l p a t i e n t l y awaiting the light. Further along, revelations of horror awaited; there they discov- ered the remains of torture c h a m b e r s w h e r e h e i n o u s scenes were played out dur- ing the Inquisition. As with Narnia, the Narni Sotter- r a n e a ' s s e c r e t s w e r e revealed with light overtak- ing the darkness. But unlike Narnia, one can buy a ticket for a tour here! C.S. Lewis was explicitly versed in history and the classics, making it easy to a s s u m e h e w a s a w a r e o f m o s t o f t h e c o n n e c t i o n s aligning Narni and Narnia. But what is fantasy without imagination, mystery, and magic? It just seems right to believe it was premonition, a mystical Italian connection, that inspired Mr. Lewis in his creation of one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time. PAULA REYNOLDS A magical view of Narni, in Umbria (Photo: Monticelllo/Dreamstime) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE TRADITIONS N a r n i – I s t h i s U m b r i a n t o w n t h e r e a l inspiration for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?

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