The history
The history
History of Ninfa
The history of Ninfa garden
From Roman and Medieval Times
Pliny the Younger, writing in the 1st century, records the existence of a small Roman temple dedicated to the water nymphs, close to an abundant spring at the foot of the Monti Lepini. By the end of the Roman Empire, with the Appian Way in disrepair and repeatedly flooded by the notorious Pontine Marshes, the stretch between Cisterna and Monte Circeo was abandoned and ‘re-sited’ inland, a few metres above sea level, at the foot of the Lepini hills and passing close to those alluring spring waters. A settlement inevitably grew up there, travellers rested, watered their horses, and paid a toll. The spring waters were dammed and harnessed for milling and other purposes.
Ninfa ceased to be an imperial possession in the 8th century, when the Holy Roman Emperor Constantine V (718–775) made a gift of it to Pope Zachary (679–752), one of the earliest popes in whose honour a coin was minted.
The little town grew in size and in commercial importance. Mirroring Rome, seven churches were built, the most iconic of which was Santa Maria Maggiore, whose imposing ruins date from the 10th century. In 1118, Giovanni da Gaeta succeeded Paschal II to become Pope Gelasius II (c. 1080–1119), the first of two Caetani popes ‒ see The Caetani Family and Ninfa below. Persecuted by Emperor Henry V (1086–1125), whom he fruitlessly excommunicated, Gelasius lasted just one year as pope, dying in exile.
In 1159, the elected pope, Alexander III (c. 1100–1181), escaping from the Roman supporters of Emperor Frederick I’s anti-pope Victor IV, took refuge in Ninfa where he was formally consecrated on 20 September 1159 in Santa Maria Maggiore. Frederick, or Barbarossa as he was known (1122–1190), took his revenge and wrecked the town, but it rose up again, its fortifications increased.
In 1159, the elected pope, Alexander III (c. 1100–1181), escaping from the Roman supporters of Emperor Frederick I’s anti-pope Victor IV, took refuge in Ninfa where he was formally consecrated on 20 September 1159 in Santa Maria Maggiore. Frederick, or Barbarossa as he was known (1122–1190), took his revenge and wrecked the town, but it rose up again, its fortifications increased.
The little town grew in size and in commercial importance. Mirroring Rome, seven churches were built, the most imposing of which was Santa Maria Maggiore, whose imposing ruins date from the 10th century. In 1118, Giovanni da Gaeta succeeded Paschal II to become Pope Gelasius II (c. 1080–1119), the first of two Caetani popes ‒ see The Caetani Family and Ninfa below. Persecuted by Emperor Henry V (1086–1125), whom he fruitlessly excommunicated, Gelasius lasted just one year as pope, dying in exile.
In 1159, the elected pope, Alexander III (c. 1100–1181), escaping from the Roman supporters of Emperor Frederick I’s anti-pope Victor IV, took refuge in Ninfa where he was formally consecrated on 20 September 1159 in Santa Maria Maggiore. Frederick, or Barbarossa as he was known (1122–1190), took his revenge and wrecked the town, but it rose up again, its fortifications increased.
In 1159, the elected pope, Alexander III (c. 1100–1181), escaping from the Roman supporters of Emperor Frederick I’s anti-pope Victor IV, took refuge in Ninfa where he was formally consecrated on 20 September 1159 in Santa Maria Maggiore. Frederick, or Barbarossa as he was known (1122–1190), took his revenge and wrecked the town, but it rose up again, its fortifications increased.
The Caetani Family and Ninfa
Papal history gives way now to Benedetto Gaetani (c. 1230–1303), whose family had settled in Anagni, between Gaeta and Rome.
In 1294, succeeding the hermitic St. Celestine V, he was elected pope and took the now notorious name of Boniface VIII. A competent canon lawyer and patron of the arts, he founded the Rome University of La Sapienza and renewed the Vatican Library. His pontificate, however, was mired by constant disputes with Philip IV of France (1268–1314).
His provocative Bull “Unam Sanctam” (1302), an extreme affirmation of papal supremacy, led to the humiliating circumstances of his arrest in Anagni in September 1303, and the pillaging of his palace by Philip’s forces. Outraged and shaken, the elderly Boniface died a month later. Always controversial, he was perhaps the last of the medieval emperor-popes.
In his lifetime, the opportunist Boniface had heightened the power of his family through territorial expansion. Notable, in 1297, was his personal acquisition from the powerful Annibaldi family, of burgeoning Ninfa which, in 1301, he gifted with all its estates to his nephew Pietro Caetani.
In 1294, succeeding the hermitic St. Celestine V, he was elected pope and took the now notorious name of Boniface VIII. A competent canon lawyer and patron of the arts, he founded the Rome University of La Sapienza and renewed the Vatican Library. His pontificate, however, was mired by constant disputes with Philip IV of France (1268–1314).
His provocative Bull “Unam Sanctam” (1302), an extreme affirmation of papal supremacy, led to the humiliating circumstances of his arrest in Anagni in September 1303, and the pillaging of his palace by Philip’s forces. Outraged and shaken, the elderly Boniface died a month later. Always controversial, he was perhaps the last of the medieval emperor-popes.
Pietro’s iconic 40-metre tower, which still stands tall over the garden today, and Ninfa’s double girdle of fortified walls, were not however enough to save the town from being ruthlessly sacked in 1381 against a background of schism, papal wars and intra-family territorial disputes. There followed five fallow centuries, during which Ninfa’s ghostly ruins almost vanished in a growing forest of vines and thickets, an incubator of the dreaded malaria, as the dynastic feuds continued.
A simmering rivalry between the Caetani and Colonna families was followed in 1499 by a drama of potentially crippling consequences – the confiscation of all Caetani properties by the Borgia pope, Alexander VI. Happily, these were restored by Pope Julius II in 1504, soon after his accession.
In spite of this confrontational climate, the Caetani increased their influence, particularly in the Pontine region. The impregnable Caetani Castle of Sermoneta, a short distance from Ninfa, is today’s enduring monument to the family’s medieval power.
In spite of this confrontational climate, the Caetani increased their influence, particularly in the Pontine region. The impregnable Caetani Castle of Sermoneta, a short distance from Ninfa, is today’s enduring monument to the family’s medieval power.
This lush Pontine heartland of the Caetani, essentially the Sermoneta and Ninfa estates, peaked with a boundary of over 100 miles. From ancient times, though, there remained one colossal challenge, namely the marshes.
Successive attempts had been made to restore what Pliny described as the ‘blossoming landscape’ that had existed at the time of the Volsci tribal settlers in 500 BC. For centuries, Roman emperors, including Trajan, vainly sought the means. Subsequently, with Ninfa a papal possession, popes tried their hand, including Boniface VIII and Sixtus V, who died of malaria in 1590 after a visit to the marshes.
The 17th and 18th-century dukes of Sermoneta were likewise unsuccessful. Only in the 20th century was the challenge met. The genius behind it was Gelasio Caetani (1877–1934) – see below.
This lush Pontine heartland of the Caetani, essentially the Sermoneta and Ninfa estates, peaked with a boundary of over 100 miles. From ancient times, though, there remained one colossal challenge, namely the marshes. Successive attempts had been made to restore what Pliny described as the ‘blossoming landscape’ that had existed at the time of the Volsci tribal settlers in 500 BC. For centuries, Roman emperors, including Trajan, vainly sought the means. Subsequently, with Ninfa a papal possession popes tried their hand, including Boniface VIII and Sixtus V, who died of malaria in 1590 after a visit to the Marshes.
The 17th and 18th-century dukes of Sermoneta were likewise unsuccessful. Only in the 20th century was the challenge met. The genius behind it was Gelasio Caetani (1877–1934) – see below.
The 17th and 18th-century dukes of Sermoneta were likewise unsuccessful. Only in the 20th century was the challenge met. The genius behind it was Gelasio Caetani (1877–1934) – see below.
The 20th-century Garden of Ninfa
and the last Caetani owners
Looking back, the Caetani story is not just one of power or survival. The 19th and 20th centuries alone produced at least two generations of Caetani steeped in statesmanship, scholarship and the arts. One might begin with Onorato Caetani (1842‒1917), 14th Duke of Sermoneta, parliamentary senator and mayor of Rome who, in 1867, married an Englishwoman, Ada Bootle Wilbraham. They had five sons and one daughter. Among these were Leone, the scholarly 15th duke, who abandoned Italian politics and emigrated to Canada; Roffredo, the 17th and last Duke of Sermoneta, a fine composer who married the American heiress Marguerite Chapin; and Gelasio, engineer, diplomat, and the visionary behind two extraordinary reclamation projects. These were the draining of the Pontine Marshes which, over the centuries, even the Romans and a succession of popes had failed to accomplish, and before that the clearance of the ruined town of Ninfa, on whose site he and his mother laid out the wonderful garden we know today.
- Lelia Caetani
With the passing of Onorato and Ada Caetani, ownership of Ninfa eventually passed to Roffredo, whose American wife, Marguerite Chapin, apart from being well known as the patron of two remarkable literary reviews, followed her mother-in-law as the second of three Caetani women to nurture and develop the garden.
The third of these, Lelia Caetani (1913‒1977), daughter of Roffredo and Marguerite, was also the last heir to the Caetani estates.
Her influence on the garden we know today was critical. Her marriage in 1951 to Hubert Howard (1907‒1987), himself a member of one of England’s oldest ducal families, was particularly fruitful in that he was passionate about heritage and environmental protection. Indeed, after Lelia’s untimely death in 1977, Hubert chaired the various foundations that she had created in her lifetime to conserve the rich Caetani patrimony. Upon his death the country estates, including Ninfa, passed fully into the ownership of the Roffredo Caetani Foundation, named after Lelia’s father.
Her influence on the garden we know today was critical. Her marriage in 1951 to Hubert Howard (1907‒1987), himself a member of one of England’s oldest ducal families, was particularly fruitful in that he was passionate about heritage and environmental protection. Indeed, after Lelia’s untimely death in 1977, Hubert chaired the various foundations that she had created in her lifetime to conserve the rich Caetani patrimony. Upon his death the country estates, including Ninfa, passed fully into the ownership of the Roffredo Caetani Foundation, named after Lelia’s father.
Digitally recreated image of Ninfa circa 1300
The Gallery House,
Picketts Lane,
Horney Common,
Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 3EG, United Kingdom
Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 3EG, United Kingdom