Nadine's Letters from Rome : The Gardens at Ninfa

Spontaneity is not usually our "thing", but not relishing the thought of spending yet another Sunday afternoon in front of the box, I asked Vito if he was up for going out somewhere last weekend.

“Where did you want to go?”

“Ninfa”.

“Where????”

I’ve often heard of a beautiful garden not far from Rome and have always wanted to see it, although it quickly became obvious Vito had never heard of the place. I explained with spring breaking out all over it would probably be lovely at this time of year, so it might be an opportune time to go - provided we could get in. The garden is only open to the public a few days a year, but as luck would have it our internet search found it was open that day.

Kiwi trees everywhere

An hour and half later we were driving towards Frosinone and the dark brooding Lepini Mountains towering behind. Much of the land en route to Ninfa has been reclaimed from swampland in the past century and is very “functional”. It is as flat as a pancake, and the roads form grids between the farms. The relatively new houses are mostly uninspiring cubes. The earth though is a rich brown and we passed field after field of Kiwi trees. Vito told me the area is a major producer of Kiwi fruit worldwide.

The castle and mountains behind

Less than an hour after leaving home we pulled into the car park at Ninfa (a field packed with cars and a few coaches). “Hmm, seems other people had the same idea too”, Vito commented as he pulled into the space indicated by a young man enthusiastically waving a baton. We made our way over to the ticket office. An entrance ticket costs 12 Euro, which includes the services of a guide, as you can’t go in without a chaperone. Tours leave every ten minutes, and take just over an hour of very gentle walking. We followed the line slowly until finally we reached an old building. We were waved through, (it turned out the building was part of a derelict church),

Entrance via a derelict church

our tickets were checked and a young woman who was to be our guide greeted us on the other side. We were in. I could see further down the path a castle with the backdrop of the mountains, and to my right a tree with roses growing up it. I hastily took a photo worried I wouldn't see anything so picturesque on the rest of our visit, and then hurried to catch up with Vito and the rest of our group. What I didn't realise was this tree was a tiny morsel in the feast that was to come. Nothing outside prepares you for the splendour of Ninfa. OK, before going into raptures, perhaps a bit of history (as told by our guide) would come in handy. The entire area dates back probably to pre Roman times, and in the grounds of the famous garden there are not only ruins from the Roman era, but also from the medieval town.

Part of an old city gate

In the middle ages this town was of prime importance standing on a route between Rome and Naples that provided a welcome alternative to the often flooded Via Appia and its major risk of maleria. The town became rich by charging heavy tariffs to traders who passed either way and developed huge significance when Pope Alexander III was crowned at Ninfa's church of S. Maria Maggiore. Alexander designated the church as one of the most important in the Province of Rome as a reward for protecting him from Frederick I (Federcio Barbarosso) who preferred someone else for the role.

The flowers use building like climbing frames

Of course as the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished, and some years later Frederick sacked Ninfa for the part it played in supporting Alexander. The city did recover after that, but as a result of what our guide called "civil wars" over the following centuries, the city gradually fell into an unstoppable decline.

These flowers are "cardinals hats!

The first garden was created on the instruction of Cardinal Caetani in the 16th century but after his death, the marshes once more moved in to reclaim it. The crumbling town was often visited by travellers and artists but remained largely unpopulated. However the land stayed in the hands of the Caetani family and finally in the 20th century the property was renovated and the gardens created into an "English Garden" by Gelasio Caetani. From that point on the family were involved in the creation of what has been described as "one of the most romantic gardens in the world". This description has been largely attributed to the input of last of the Caetani line, Leila, who was a painter and was said to plant the garden as if she were painting a landscape picture. And indeed that's exactly how it strikes you as you walk round a corner

Walking through a series of paintings

from one setting to another. The plants literally use the old medieval town as their climbing frames, with spectacular results. Turn any corner and you are immediately confronted with a canvas of colour and delicate beauty. After Leila's death in 1977 the upkeep of the garden was taken over by the Roffredo Caetani Foundation which carries on with the work to this day. As to the garden itself, with the high Lepini mountains directly behind it protecting it from the cold, and the sea not 10 kms away on the other side bringing in warmth, the garden has a very special eco climate.

Water running through it

Our guide told us plants grow there three times faster than in other places. Furthermore the River Ninfa and its tributaries provide natural irrigation for the entire place. As a result all kinds of exotic plants grow there. We saw beautiful oriental magnolias, and wonderfully coloured plants from Japan.

Tree with scarf!

Trees with scarves! The "scarf" is a S. American plant that has no roots but takes its nutrients from the air and so wraps itself around high tree trunks in an attempts to get higher and therefore cleaner air, making the host tree look as though it is wearing a scarf. Whichever way you turn in the garden you are confronted with yet another scene of colour, and in some places an almost mystical quality.

Colour everywhere

I often felt I was walking an another era. The sheer beauty and romance of the place is truly stunning. You'll probably gather from this that I was quite taken with the place!

But so was Vito. He said to me, long before we reached the end of the tour how glad he was we had come.

Bananas in the piazza

I've never seen banana plants

growing at the site of a medieval piazza before, nor have I seen stately bamboo growing as it does there - each shoot growing around 10 cms a day! As we walked on towards the end of the tour we came to the river and even more treats as if the previous hour hadn't already delivered enough. Firstly the "Butchers Bridge which is being renovated at the moment.

Stately bamboo

We were told no one was sure why it was so named. It could be because it was situated just outside the old city walls and may have taken its name from the "butchering" of enemies who tried to breach the walls in medieval times. There again, the city abattoir was nearby. Whichever it was, as Vito remarked "someone or something got butchered". The water, which sparkles wherever you see it in the garden, is absolutely crystal clear under the bridge and so pure a special kind of plant grows in it.

Butchers Bridge

This plant only grows in the cleanest of water and is normally an indicator it is safe to drink. We were also told that an almost extinct type of trout, which only survives in uncontaminated water, also thrives there. Vito swore to me later that he had seen a huge trout swim by. As I was carefully studying a plant that attracted my attention Vito said to me "did you hear the guide? She said that plant only flowers every 30 years!" "Really? It looks like a Clematis to me".

Water's edge and leaves that grow to 3 metres

I must admit I was puzzled until I happened to look up and find him grinning, his eyes bright with mischief. Walking on just a short distance then brings you to the old Roman Bridge, with the area of ancient mills behind it, literally dripping with cascades of feathery wisteria. It was like being in a Monet painting. Simply breathtaking. It took ages to take any photos there as it seemed like everyone in the world wanted to be snapped with the beautiful flowers in the bacground. I had to wait for a long time for the people to clear! The final part of the tour takes you past a few restored borgo buildings that were originally the "council offices" of the medieval town, and were later used by the Caetani family and their guests to stay when visiting the garden. There is also a separate "Italian Garden", which you can visit for an extra charge of 2 Euro each, but the weather had been getting progressively gloomy and we decided to give it a miss. If you are interested in reading more about the Giardini di Ninfa, the official website (there is an English version) can be found here. Here are the links to the Wikipedia in English account of the gardens and also a link to the history of Frederick I if you are interested.

Towards the main piazza in the old medieval town

Should you wish to visit the gardens and you are coming from distant shores (or even Rome for that matter) I would advise you to look on the offical website to see the very few dates that the gardens are open to the public and plan your trip accordingly. Likewise some of the tours are given by an English speaking guide, but again you need to check the times. We loved our visit there, but I'm afraid my pictures really do not to the place justice, but you can see others on the links I've provided above to get a better idea. We plan to go again in the autumn when of course the colours will be totally different but according to our guide just as magnificent. If you love gardens and being surrounded by beauty, I thoroughly recommend a visit to Ninfa. I really don't think you could be disappointed. I've put some more photos below this text for you to see. I took so many it was difficult to know which ones to choose. As I said before they really don't do justice to the gardens, but I hope they give you some idea of how lovely the gardens are. Please SCROLL DOWN to see more photos. I hope you enjoy them J