The history
The history
History of Ninfa
The history of Ninfa garden
From Roman and Medieval Times
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.
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 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.
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.
The third of these, Lelia Caetani (1913‒1977), daughter of Roffredo and Marguerite, was also the last heir to the Caetani estates.
Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 3EG, United Kingdom