THE MAGIC OF SFORZA CESARINI PARK

Discovering an enchanted spot, where oak branches and laurel fronds brush against your face, is a lovely experience for anybody. It awaits you in Genzano di Roma, in the heart of the Roman Hills. Here we find one of the few English gardens in Italy, created in the mid- 19th century by Duke Lorenzo Sforza- Cesarini and his wife, Caroline Shirley. Set behind the 17-century Sforza-Cesarini Palace, the park spreads down from the rim of the volcanic crater to the shores of Lake Nemi, knowns to the ancients as the "Speculum Dianae" ("Diana's Mirror"). The goddess Diana once ruled over the lake and the woods around it, where her temple stood. This sanctuary, together with the one dedicated to Jupiter Latiaris on Mons Albanus (now called Monte Cavo, easily visible from the park), was one of the most important religious centers of ancient Latium. Myths, legends, relics of the past, the discovery of civilizations distant in both time and space, and above all nature: magical and silent forests growing undisturbed for centuries or reclaiming spaces that man had taken over. This was the atmosphere that Romanticism loved. In keeping with this taste, inspired by the myths about the lake and its sacred grove, the Sforza-Cesarinis preserved the native flora while adding plants from far-away places that increased the number of species already growing in the park. That is why, standing besides the native oaks, laurels and beeches, one encounters Lebanon cedars and Canadian sequoias more than a 160 years old. Here and here among the trees, tiny streams and fake ruins evoke the typical atmosphere of the Romantic wood, where man takes second place to the ancient trees, the cool springs and the steep slopes of an apparently untouched wilderness. Last fall the park was finally reopened to the public after two years of restoration work that have recaptured the charm and beauty of this unique environment, just as it was conceived by Duke and Duchess Sforza-Cesarini more than a century and a half ago. The many surprises you'll find here will enchant you; we'll add no more, leaving you the pleasure of discovering them on your own.