Exploring the Enchanted Beauty of Ninfa’s Fairy Garden
- A “Living” Ruin: Ninfa is unique because the botanical garden is woven into the skeletal remains of a medieval city, including 180 original houses and 7 churches.
- The Caetani Legacy: The garden was curated over 1,000 years of family history, specifically blooming into its current form through the vision of the Caetani women in the 1900s.
- Biodiversity Hub: Beyond the aesthetic garden, the site includes the Pantanello Natural Park, an essential wetland ecosystem restored from former marshland.
The Garden of Ninfa is a stunning park located near Sermoneta, Lazio. This garden encompasses the ruins of the ancient city of Ninfa, which was likely founded by the Volscians at the base of the Monti Lepini.
It has a surface of 106 hectares (the garden covers an area of 8 hectares and the Natural Park of Pantanello about 100 hectares).
During the Roman age a small temple devoted to the Nymphs, goddesses of the woods and waters, was built next to the water flowing from the springs of the Lepidi Mountains.
The river was named after them. The abundance of water facilitated a settlement that controlled the road from Velletri to Terracina.
Starting perhaps from sec. XI, Ninfa was given to feudal lords: Frangipane, Segni, Colonna, and Caetani family. The last purchase was made in 1297 by Pietro II Count of Caserta, sent by Pope Boniface VIII, Benedetto Caetani. In 1159 in the local church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Cardinal Roland Bandinelli was consecrated pope, under the name of Alexander III, who was then forced to leave Rome because of the divisions with the emperor. In 1171 Ninfa was destroyed by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
In 1300, the same year of the establishment of the first Jubilee declared by his uncle, the Pope, Pietro Caetani built the tower (32 meters high) that dominates Ninfa and the castle. Defended by double walls, the city contained seven churches, at least 180 houses (many of them have been identified), 14 towers, a castle, a town hall, mills, and a population of fewer than 1,500 inhabitants. In 1381 Ninfa was occupied by the troops of the antipope Clement VII, who was elected in the schismatic conclave of Fondi of 1378; Clement VII was an opponent of the Caetani family. A few months later the citadel was besieged and put on fire. It was the beginning of the decline: the population fled elsewhere leaving the castle because of malaria.
In 1470 Caetani family tried to restore the place by building an iron foundry. Between 1500 and 1600 a vegetable garden was built. Hortus Ninfa produced varieties of citrus and tulips that were sold in Europe. However Ninfa was abandoned till the first two decades of the twentieth century, when Gelasio Caetani began to restore the first buildings, to dig the bed of the river, planting trees, creating the garden that grew under the care of three women: his mother Ada Wibraham (English), her sister Marguerite Chapin (American) and the and granddaughter Lelia. Roffredo, brother of Gelasio and father of Lelia, restored the old town hall, now the headquarters of the Foundation named after him, and created the canals that criss-cross in the garden.
During World War II Camillo, son of Roffredo and Marguerite Chapin, the only male representative of the noble family of the family, died. The dynasty was extinguished after 1000 years in 1977 with the death of Lelia.
The task of perpetuating the beauty of the place relied on Roffredo Caetani Foundation.
Pantanello Natural Park
Where is the Garden of Ninfa located?
The Garden of Ninfa is situated at the base of the Monti Lepini near Sermoneta, in the Lazio region of Italy. It covers 106 hectares, including the ruins of the medieval city and the Natural Park of Pantanello.
Why was the city of Ninfa abandoned?
Ninfa began to decline in the late 14th century after being besieged and burned during a conflict involving Antipope Clement VII. The remaining population eventually fled due to the spread of malaria in the surrounding marshes.
Who created the modern Garden of Ninfa?
The modern botanical garden was started in the early 20th century by Gelasio Caetani. It was further developed by three generations of women: Ada Wilbraham, Marguerite Chapin, and Lelia Caetani.
Can you visit the ruins inside the garden?
Yes, the garden is built directly into the ruins of the medieval town. Visitors can see the remains of the 32-meter-high tower, the castle, the town hall, and several ancient churches integrated into the landscape.
Photos: Fondazione Roffredo Caetani onlus
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