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Garden of Ninfa. Picture By PecceSara.

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Ninfa garden

  The Ninfa Garden is located in Cisterna di Latina, in the province of Latina, in central Italy. The park, which covers 105 hectares (260 acres), is a natural monument in Italy.

The park’s landscape garden covers 8 hectares (20 acres) and includes medieval ruins, oaks, cypresses, poplars, grassy meadows, exotic plants from around the world, several watercourses, and a large variety of rambling roses growing over the stone walls of the ruins.

The site is managed by Fondazione Roffredo Caetani, an Italian foundation. It is open to the public at certain times from April to November. Nearby towns include Norma and Sermoneta.

Ninfa has been dubbed “the most romantic garden in the world.” Let’s have a look at some amazing Ninfa Garden facts;

1. The garden was created by  Gelasio Caetani

Prince Gelasio Caetani. Picture By National Photo Company Collection,

Beginning in 1921, Gelasio Caetani designed the landscape in the English garden style. Caetani was the son of Duke of Sermoneta Onorato Caetani and Lady Constance Adela (Ada) Bootle-Wilbraham.

He renovated parts of the medieval town of Ninfa’s buildings as summer residences, particularly the tower and town hall. Simultaneously, he proceeded to grow several plant species that he had brought home from his travels abroad under the supervision of Ada Bottle-Wilbraham, who had already established a garden at Lake Fogliano.

The plants thrived due to the favorable climate: the environment is extremely humid due to the frequent rains and the Ninfa River.

2. The park hosts more than 1300 different plant varieties

Ninfa Garden Plants. Picture By Dorotanm,

The park now supports over 1300 plant species, which are supported by several irrigation streams as well as the Ninfa River.

Climbing rose fans will find paradise on Earth. Numerous rare and common rose species (Rosa banksiae banksiae, RosaTausendshön, Rosa ‘Mme. Alfred Carriere,’ Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate,’ Rosa ‘Gloire de Dijon,’ Rosa ‘Climbing Cramoisi Supérieur’) are supported on the ruins of the ancient city.

Shrub roses (Rosa roxburghii, Rosa ‘Général Shablikine,’ Rosa ‘Mutabilis,’ Rosa hugoni, Rosa ‘Ballerina,’ Rosa ‘Iceberg,’ Rosa ‘Max Graf,’ Rosa ‘Complicata,’ Rosa ‘Penelope,’ and Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’) form beds and border the river, streams, and walks. Every month, the garden has different blossoms, colors, and scents.

  3. The Ninfa River creates the eponymous lake 

Garden of Ninfa Lake. Picture By Livioandronico2013.

The River Ninfa flows for 30 kilometers from the city to the Pontine plain, forming the eponymous lake and home to a specific species of trout brought from Africa by the Romans thousands of years ago.

In 1976, a 1,800-acre oasis was established around Ninfa’s core to protect the local fauna. This includes 152 species of birds, including raptors like the Peregrine Falcon and the Barn Owl, as well as wading birds like the Grey Heron.

 4. The garden was Owned by several Papal families

Ninfa Gardens Castle, By Livioandronico2013.

The garden is built on the ruins of Ninfa, a once-thriving town. Ninfa’s history dates back to Roman times when it was a thriving town supported by tolls imposed due to its strategic location en route to Rome.

Before falling into the hands of the Caetani in 1298, Ninfa was owned by a number of Papal families. In the years that followed, Ninfa grew to include seven churches, over a hundred dwellings, fourteen towers, and a castle. Pietro Caetani, Pope Boniface VII’s nephew, built the castle and its 32-meter-high tower as a symbol of the Caetani family’s wealth and power.

5. The garden includes the ruins of the ancient settlement of Ninfa

The park contains the remains of Ninfa, whose name appears to stem from a classical era nymphaeum, a temple dedicated to nymphs, located on an island in the tiny lake; nymphs were thought to reside in mountains and forests, beside springs and rivers, as well as trees, valleys, and cold grottoes.

According to Charles Quest-book Ritson’s Ninfa: The Most Romantic Garden in the World, Pliny the younger mentioned a temple on the grounds dedicated to water nymphs as the Gardens of Ninfa’s first documented evidence.

6. The garden was set aside as a wildlife sanctuary

Ninfa is located on a major bird migration route from Africa to Europe. A wide variety of animals live in the garden, river, and lake, including brown trout, Mediterranean trout, Salmo Cettii, and 152 bird species.

In 1976, the World Wildlife Fund designated 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) of the garden as a wildlife sanctuary, with brush plantings and wetland development to aid bird nesting, as well as 15 hectares (37 acres) of reinstated native vegetation.

Teals, mallards, gadwalls, herons, lapwings, and a few raptors have been spotted there since then.

7. The garden is a tourist attraction site

The Garden of Ninfa is the place to go if you want to visit a magical and off-the-beaten-path location during your Italian vacation. This place feels like a faraway fantasy kingdom, and it has been dubbed the world’s most romantic garden.

The Ninfa Garden Italy (as well as the village that bears its name) is located 64 kilometers southeast of Rome, at the foot of the Lepini Mountains. The Lazio Region designated it as a Natural Monument due to its natural harmony.

It’s not only a great day trip for couples, but it’s also a great place to stop between Rome and Naples. Ninfa Garden is a wonderful place to visit because of its beautiful lakes, lush greenery, and beautiful scenery.

8. Marguerite Chapin championed renovation after the park was ruined

Ninfa would not bloom again until the 16th century when it fell under the seigniory of the Caetani family, Sermoneta’s feudal lords. The community appeared to be doomed, however, when a malaria outbreak forced residents to flee the area once more. For centuries after that, Ninfa remained primarily a peaceful peasant village.

It wasn’t until the twentieth century that the Caetani family decided to take matters into their own hands. Transforming the remains of the village into a botanical garden. Marguerite Chapin, an American aristocrat who married into the family, oversaw the project.

She chose beautiful trees and flowers, as well as pools of water, fountains, and rose varieties. Ninfa rose to prominence after being modeled after the Anglo-Saxon garden style. Ninfa has become one of the most beautiful spots in the region, beautifully combining beautiful nature with Sermoneta’s medieval remnants.

9. Ninfa’s lush bounty

Ninfa’s lush bounty—1300 plant species such as calla lilies, irises, tulips, magnolia, cherry, and banana trees, Japanese maples, and even a bamboo pavilion—is attributed in part to its peculiar microclimate.

It is located at the confluence of the alluvial Pontine plains and the Lepini hills and is abundant in spring water.

A cloud of moist air rises from the adjacent Tyrrhenian Sea and rips open, releasing a light rain on the garden and assisting the plants below to thrive.

Visitors are encouraged to dip water bottles into one of the streams for a refreshing drink.

10. The garden is described as the most romantic garden in the world

Beautiful view of Ninfa Gardens. By Daderot.

Ninfa has been described as “the most romantic garden in the world” by Charles Quest-Ritson, whose book on the subject is currently selling on Amazon for an eye-watering £176.

The gardens are truly beautiful. Many of the trees and plants surrounding the ruins are of oriental origin and have been meticulously planted.

The most beautiful parts of the garden had water and a river that would have looked right at home in a pre-Raphaelite painting: I almost expected to see Millais’ Ophelia floating among the pure waterweed.