umenitsa - Patrasso - Grimaldi Group

marenostrum
memory, you can sense the beginnings
of all this beauty and absolve Nicholas
III (1277-1280). Paradoxically, it was this
pope, who Dante accused of simony
and consigned to the eighth circle of hell,
who laid the foundations for this piece of
heaven on earth. The associations with
the past are very much apparent as you
wander around the hedge maze in the
contemporary Italian garden or under
the arcs of the English style garden. Or
again, in the orchard next to the Mater
Ecclesiae monastery, which produced
fresh organic fruit and vegetables for
Benedict XVI’s table.
It is said that the pope/theologian liked to
stroll in the gardens and pray in front of
the Lourdes grotto, where the colourful
flower beds are changed continually. He
was fond of the grounds and called a
team of 30 top experts to look after
them. His most recent predecessors
were just as scrupulous. From John Paul II
(1978-2005), who knew every last detail
of the gardens, to John XXIII (1958-1963),
whose favourite spot was the Torre di
San Giovanni, where he apparently used
to enjoy playing bocce. This is also the
starting point of the lower embankment
intersecting the Leonine Wall, along
which Pius XII (1939-1958) would stroll
backwards and forwards in meditation
at the same time each day. The setting
exerts a powerful force of attraction. As
do the ancient olive trees sent here from
Puglia during the Jubilee year. Gnarled,
majestic, sturdy. Then there are the Lebanon
cedars and the coral tree, which is
all that remains – together with the holm
oaks – of the exotic garden of Leo XIII
(1878-1903). Sequoias, Japanese cherry
trees, magnolias in the shape of pyramids,
the Ginkgo Biloba. Climbing roses
in stunning hues, created for Our
Lady
of Guadalupe. Or the hundred fountains,
located throughout the grounds, which
gurgle with prayers and ancient secrets.
Legend has it that cardinals and bishops
come here to discuss delicate matters so
as not to be overheard. As long as the
fountains keep gushing, confidentiality
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