Santʼanatolia Di Narco: Culture, Nera River and Mountain Landscapes

Culture and Sacred History

The Museo della Canapa in Sant’Anatolia di Narco opened in 2008 and documents the complete cycle of hemp processing. Cultivation is followed by water retting and drying; breaking and carding complete this process. The focus is therefore on a clearly comprehensible sequence of traditional craftwork steps.

The bell tower of the Chiesa di Sant’Anatolia di Narco incorporates one of the towers of the medieval castle complex. The Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie preserves an original fresco attributed to the Maestro di Eggi. Alongside the architecture, the fresco thus adds a specific art-historical attribution to the history of the village.

The Abbey of Santi Felice e Mauro is also located in Castel San Felice, a hamlet of Sant’Anatolia di Narco. It is considered one of Umbria’s most important Romanesque churches. The religious buildings are therefore distributed between Sant’Anatolia di Narco and its associated hamlet of Castel San Felice.

The Feast of the Madonna delle Grazie takes place at the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie on 22 August. The date is directly associated with this church and adds an additional occasion to the permanent architectural and artistic heritage.

River Landscape and Mountain Region

The Nera River has a particularly strong influence on the municipal area of Sant’Anatolia di Narco. The river landscape stands alongside the higher mountains and the forests and grazing areas found there.

Above 900 metres, tall oak and beech forests grow on the Coscerno and Eremita mountains. The extensive high-altitude pastures reach beyond 1,500 metres, and golden eagles live there permanently. The high-altitude areas therefore extend from the forests to the open high pastures; the golden eagle is a permanent part of the wildlife of this mountain region.

Paths and Views

The section of the Greenway del Nera in question begins at the village of Palombara, runs in the direction of Scheggino and climbs uphill along the medieval walls of Sant’Anatolia di Narco. The route therefore has a clearly defined starting point, a specified direction and an ascent along the walls.

For day planning, the uphill section along the medieval walls is a specific point to note. Anyone planning this section should take the change in elevation at this point into account and include Palombara as the starting point and Scheggino as the directional reference.

During the ascent along these walls, the Greenway del Nera offers impressive landscape views. From the western gate of Castel San Felice, there is a view of the abbey below and the recently restored bridge over the Nera River. Thus, the route and the hamlet offer two differently described viewing situations.

Truffle Processing in the Municipality

The municipality of Sant’Anatolia di Narco is home to a globally significant business specialising in the preservation and processing of truffles. In addition to hemp processing, religious architecture and mountain landscapes, truffle processing is therefore also one of the municipality’s themes.

Other places in Italy: Torre Del Colle, Pesciano, Abeto, Ferretto, Buchignano, Tordandrea, Castiglion Fosco and Norcia.

For the higher-level travel overview: Perugia.