History
The attractive, secular Castel Giuliano park at the heart of a great estate on the slopes of the Tolfa mountains, was an ancient Etruscan and Roman settlement and has been the property of the Patrizi Marquesses since the sixteenth century. After centuries of neglect the owners decided to restore the park, castle and the family church to their former, long-lost splendor and prestige, with lengthy and meticulous repairs.
On entering this enchanted garden, where unspoiled nature blends
harmoniously with a masterly botanic-landscape research, one is instantly immersed in luxuriant planting, managed with great skill.
Aromatic herbs and flowering shrubs grow at the base of majestic old specimens of Pinus pinea, oaks, cedars of Lebanon, magnolias and maples, which accentuate the contrast between wild nature and the ornamental planting with superbly refined tones and colors.
The real speciality of this garden is roses, for which the Marchioness
Umberta Patrizi has had a true passion for some years which has enabled her to transform Castel Giuliano into one of the most important private Italian rose gardens. Hundreds of old roses scramble spectacularly over the walls, including magnificent specimens of “Albéric Barbier” (a variety from 1821), “Blu Magenta” (dating back to 1900), “Sweet Juliette” (created in 1989 by the Englishman Austin by taking nineteenth century roses as models, but obtaining the repeat blooming of modern ones). Many other roses and shrubs form borders and hedges, sharing the carefully designed spaces with foxgloves, lavenders and blue Ceanothus.
