La Fata di Ninfa

Located between Rome and Naples, at the foot of the Lepini Mountains, Ninfa takes its name from an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the nymphs. After the fall of the Roman empire, the Appian Way (which connected Rome to Naples) became unsafe to travel because of the surrounding malaria-ridden swamps and bandit attacks. This gave the Ninfa settlement a new role and importance because of its strategic position on the "Pedemontana" road that bypassed the swamps and its dangers. Ninfa became a wealthy city by imposing hefty fees on all the travelers and traders, but it also made the surrounding towns jealous and very angry! In 1382 a large army descended upon Ninfa and proceeded to sack and raze the city to the ground. Its inhabitants were absorbed by the neighboring villages. Ninfa remained a ruin until the 1920s, when the last descendants of the powerful Caetani family turned into a picturesque garden, "the most romantic garden in Italy" or "the Pompeii of the Middle Ages," as it is often described. With such a complicated and tragic history, it was only natural for Ninfa to become the subject of many legends. According to one version of the story, the king of Ninfa wanted to reclaim the surrounding farmland from the swamp, and promised his beautiful daughter's hand in marriage to the man who could accomplish this feat of engineering and hydraulics. A powerful wizard took on the challenge and - using dark magic - was able to drain the swamp in one night! Alas, the princess of Ninfa was in love with someone else, and rather than marrying the wicked wizard she threw herself from the tallest tower into the depth of the lake below. This is where poet Augusto Sindici begins his tale: after her premature demise, the poor princess turned into an evil sorceress, and decided to take her revenge against her father and all the people who dared to pass by the cursed lake. She wove a poisonous cape that could instantly suck the youth out of anyone who touched it, and started haunting the roads at night, only returning to her watery grave during the day. This story is clearly an allegory that portrays the symptoms of malaria (consumption, drowsiness, fever etc.) in a more compelling and romantic fashion. The swamps were finally drained in the 1930s, but only after many more people succumbed to the dark power of the lake!