The Pontine Marshes Park
The idea of renaturalizing the land of the Caetani Foundation farm adjacent to the Ninfa Garden came about by chance in 1991 during a walk.
On an early summer day in 1991, Fulco Pratesi , Honorary President of WWF Italy, Arturo Osio , then President of the Caetani Foundation, and Lauro Marchetti , Director of the Ninfa Garden, took a walk outside the walls of Ninfa. Before their eyes was a nondescript field of alfalfa, with a few trees, and the distant sound of birdsong.
Fulco Pratesi asked, "What was here before?" "Marshes for much of the year and lots of greenery. We have photos and prints from that era," Lauro Marchetti replied. Fulco Pratesi and Arturo Osio's eyes widened, and Fulco Pratesi enthusiastically said, "Shall we be a little crazy? Let's recreate the marsh!"
The idea was to return to wild nature a territory that had been heavily transformed by man, creating a continuum with the Garden of Ninfa. Thus, once the swamp was reborn, the dead city of Ninfa would once again overlook, as it did in the past, an expanse of marshes and woods.
December 15, 2009
A team of geologists, botanists, zoologists, entomologists, and historians conducted a thorough study to recreate the original environment of the Pontine Marshes.
Pantanello Park features six marshy ponds fed by the waters of the Ninfa River, varying in depth and size: three flora ponds, an amphibian pond with still waters devoid of fish, a bird pond with deep waters for aquatic birds and seasonal marshy meadows, habitat of numerous insect species, which in turn feed the birds, and finally a pond whose waters reflect the walls of Ninfa.
The typical flora of the area was reintroduced thanks to the valuable study conducted by the botanist Augusto Beguinot (1875-1940) who described in detail the vegetation of the Pontine Marshes before the last reclamation projects of the 20th century.
The avifauna
Pantanello is located on one of the main migratory bird routes and is a suitable place for a refreshing stop, for wintering and even for nesting for some species.
Arrivals of wild ducks such as teals, shovelers, pochards, gadwalls have been recorded, as well as herons, egrets, kingfishers, lapwings, and some rare species, such as the ferruginous duck, and some species of birds of prey, such as the marsh harrier and the peregrine falcon.
On a total area of approximately 100 hectares, The wetlands cover approximately 12 hectares. Characterized by diverse ecological values, they consist of ponds, marshes, and swampy environments, wet meadows, and small running streams.
Pantanello Park is also intended to fulfill a scientific-educational function through environmental study and monitoring programs and studies on the ecology of wetlands, to be carried out in collaboration with schools and research institutes, both national and international.
