One of the good aspects of living in Italy is that sometimes you just need to travel few kilometers to find real treasures. We found one in Sermoneta, close to Latina, less than a hundred kilometers away from Rome: Garden of Ninfa.
Despite the rain and the line under the umbrella, the Garden of Ninfa is a park I can’t forget, a little jewel which was elected by also the New York Times as the most romantic garden in the world and was instituted as a National Monument of Lazio Region. On top of that, since 1976 safeguarding the flora and the fauna of the place, more than 1300 species, it was instituted a WWF Oasis.
The garden was wanted by Gelasio Caetani and built from 1921 on the remains of the lost medieval city of Ninfa, of which you can still see some ruins in the garden, and on the banks of the river that today has the same name of the city. Of the old city, apart from the ruins of the medieval burg, three roman bridges remains, which were used to cross the river. the most important is the Ponte del Macello (Massacre Bridge), which, it seems, is named after a battle: it was here, in fact, that the inhabitants killed the enemies throwing a huge number of spears to defend their city, and the bodies were so many that the bridge turned red for all the blood spilt.
Strolling here it’s like jumping back in time.
Nothing is to be seen except nature and ancient ruins, and in spring cherry blossoming is a unique spectacle.
Even air has a different smell, and the only noise is the one of the river flowing and of the animals living there. Here nature, in addition to being alive and luxuriant, has a unique charm: elegant, clean, welcoming it in your sight it’s an astonishing pleasure. It’s not wild nature, it’s an “English garden” whispering with life and memories. Wandering here listening those whispers and filling our eyes with green and blue it’s actually like going back in time, living in a world of which, nowadays, one can only read in fables.
Sometimes words just can’t describe a place the way it deserves. Let me confide to you that here I actually searched for fairies.
