Ninfa and Gardens around Rome  (6th-10th May 2008)

Tuesday 6th May - Frascati: Hotel Flora and Villa Aldobrandini
Midday flight to Rome, Fiumicino Airport.  Drive to Frascati and check in to Hotel Flora.   Afternoon tour of the garden at Villa Aldobrandini.  The villa, on the hill dominating the main square of Frascati, was constructed in 1600 for Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, the nephew of Pope Clementine VII.   It is a perfect example of Italian Baroque architecture. The garden, with the spectacular water theatre, although now rather decayed, still has all the splendour and drama of gardens of this period.  On a clear day the views over the Roman Campagna are magnificent.

Wednesday 7th May - Tivoli: Villa d’Este and Hadrian’s Villa
Water dominates the magnificent garden of the Villa d’Este. An endless stream, diverted from the River Aniene which flows through the town, pours from fountains, cascades down water staircases and fills formal pools.  The garden was designed to reflect the grandeur and power of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, for whom it was constructed in the 1560s. Hadrian’s Villa, just outside Tivoli, was the Versailles of second century Rome.  Built by the Emperor Hadrian on a stupendous scale, it impresses, even after nearly 1900 years of plundering, through the scale of its buildings and the subtle integration of architecture and landscape.                                                                                         

Thursday 8th May - The Giardini della Landriana and Ninfa
The first of two magical twentieth century gardens, Landriana was a collaboration from 1967 between the designer Russell Page and the owner, Marchesa Lavinia Taverna.  The result is a wonderful combination of plantsmanship and good design as formal rooms by the house give way to informal drifts of roses around the lake.  The famous garden at Ninfa is the extraordinary creation of three generations of the Caetani family who incorporated a ruined medieval town into one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.  Gin-clear water flows in abundance through the luxurious planting that clothes the ruined towers and churches of the town.  Roses riot over old stone walls and wisteria is reflected in the fast flowing streams.                                   

Friday 9th May - Bomarzo, Castello Ruspoli and Villa Lante
Check out of the Hotel Flora and drive north to Bomarzo for a tour of the garden which was created by Vicino Orsini in the 1570s.  In a wood below the town he developed a highly symbolic garden peopled by giants, monsters, and dragons, all carved from outcrops of rock.  Castello Ruspoli, where we will be having lunch, has been owned by the same family since the garden was laid out in the 1610s by Vicino Orsini’s daughter. The garden, which lies below the castle and is designed to be seen from the main reception rooms, is a superb example of an Italian formal parterre. The Villa d’Este might be the most famous Renaissance garden in Italy, but the loveliest is the Villa Lante at Bagnaia, which was built at much the same time in the 1560s for Cardinal Gambara. Water is the dominating theme of the garden, flowing the length of the garden, from a natural-looking grotto to the formal French-inspired parterre.   Throughout there are elements of great charm and humour. 

We check into the Grand Hotel della Terme di Stigliano which is set in the midst of enchanting countryside north of Rome. There has been a spa and hotel here for centuries, taking advantage of the therapeutic springs which have been popular since at least Roman times.  The hotel is now owned by the Patrizi family and Marchesa Umberta Patrizi is currently creating a garden around the hotel. 

Saturday 10th May - Castel Giuliano
Check out of the Grand Hotel di Stigliano and drive to Palazzo Patrizi, Castel Giuliano, where the garden is the creation of the present Marchesa Umberto Patrizi.  It is dominated by spectacular stone pines, growing extraordinarily over the remains of Etruscan tombs.   However the Marchesa’s real passion is her collection of roses, which soften the walls of the castle, scramble through the trees, and grow in wide borders with Ceanothus, myrtle, peonies and foxgloves.  Drive to Fiumicino Airport for a late afternoon flight to London.

TOTAL COST
The five days, with three nights at the Hotel Flora in Frascati and one at Stigliano (two people sharing), all lunches (except on the first day), drinks on the roof terrace on the first evening and dinner at the Grand Hotel delle Terme, all entrance fees and tours of the gardens with James Bolton and travel by luxury air conditioned coach, will cost £1,260.00 per person (airfares are not included).  For anyone requiring a single room, there will be a single supplement of £115.00.

English Garden tours - Click here

Ninfa and the Finest Private Gardens around Rome - Click here

Journées des Plantes at Courson - Click here