The secrets of these rooms intrigue Nini, and he has only recently
learned more about the prisoners who were once held there. Last
year, he found a treasure trove of Inquisition records in the
library of the University of
Dublin, Trinity College. They had been
carried off by Napoleon's soldiers in the early eighteenth century
to be housed in various museums in
Paris. But after Napoleon's
fall, the Vatican retrieved what it wanted, and the rest of the
material was dispersed throughout
Europe. Through his research in
Dublin and in archives in the Vatican, Nini determined the
identities of two of the prisoners who were kept in the secret
cells.
One was a bigamist, imprisoned in 1726, who escaped after
strangling one of his jailers with a rope. Another was a Freemason,
locked away in 1759. Though he was eventually freed, in his
defiance against his inquisitors, he carved coded graffiti into the
walls of the cell: a bird, a tree, a sun and a moon with human
faces, and the numerals three, four, and seven. Nini interprets
them as symbols of peace, liberty, and justice.
History isn't yet done revealing itself to Nini, though. In
December 2005, an earthquake split open the floor of the church
adjacent to the hidden chapel. Beneath the pavement were the
skeletons of men, women, and children.
He showed me their remains, and as we stood in the church apse, the
evening light flickered eerily. Side by side, the partially
excavated skeletons grinned up from their shallow tomb. Nini
grinned too. He has more secrets to decipher.
Narni Sotterranea, Via S. Bernardo 12,
011-39-074-4722292, www.narnisotterranea.it