Narnia Pass

The fortress was built by Cardinal Egidio Albornoz in 1367 on a 332-metre drop in a very favourable position to defend against military attacks. In 1378, work was completed and Cardinal Philippe d'Alençon attended the inauguration. In 1395 it was conquered by Pandolfo Malatesta and then returned to the hands of the Pope. It was then granted in jurisdiction to Andrea Tomacelli, brother of Boniface IX. In 1417 Braccio Fortebraccio occupied Narni and the Albornoz Fortress. A few years later, the latter returned again to Pope Martin V and his noble family, the Colonna. The Albornoz Fortress suffered many sieges in the course of time, including one in 1527 by the Landsknechts: after an initial victory on the part of the Narnesi, they prevailed, entered the city and destroyed it. Among the most important figures who stayed at the Rocca were Cardinal Duranti Durante, archbishop and astronomer Alessandro Piccolomini and Count Francesco Cenci, who stayed here as a prisoner. In 1798, General Berthier led an army of 14,000 French soldiers against the Rocca, but it was only in 1860 that it was conquered by General Luigi Masi of the Umbria Brigade and ceded to the Kingdom of Italy. In the early 1900s, a Russian prince took possession of the Rocca until 1972.

Palazzo Eroli Museum is divided into two sections. In the first one we find fossil finds and remains that start from prehistory and accompany us to the Middle Ages. The life of the famous mercenary captain Gattamelata, or Erasmus of Narni, is also outlined here. The second part, on the other hand, is an art gallery inside which we can admire works by local artists ranging from the 14th to the 18th century, such as the Annunciation by Benozzo Gozzoli and the Coronation of the Virgin by Domenico Ghirlandaio, commissioned by Cardinal Berardo Eroli. Finally, there is a room entirely dedicated to the donation made to the Municipality of Narni in the 1930s by the collector Edoardo Martinori, a lover of the East. Among the many things he brought back from his travels were a mummy and a richly decorated wooden sarcophagus.