A small walled town at the springs of the Ninfa river where the road along the foot of the Lepini mountains skirts the Pontine marsh: mills, churches and a lakeside castle.
Alexander III was crowned here in 1159; Barbarossa's army burned it in 1171.
Who holds it
- Title
- Papal walled town
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
en.wikipedia (Garden of Ninfa): Alexander III was crowned there in 1159; Barbarossa's men sacked and burned it in 1171 after the pope had taken refuge there; a wall of about 1,400 metres with towers, several churches (S. Maria Maggiore enlarged in the early twelfth century), mills and bridges; a castle by the lake built in the twelfth century. The Ceccano held a share in Ninfa by 1224 (DBI). Its lord on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Lord in 1200
The pope (not pinned in a 1200 source).
Overlord
The pope.
How things stand that morning
Papal.
Wealth
Mills and tolls.
Military
Walls.
Walls and castle
Town wall about 1,400 metres long with towers (en.wikipedia); castle by the lake.
Trade and crafts
Mills on the spring-fed river; the road along the mountain foot.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Physical description only; its lord in 1200 is not found.
Primary sources for Papal State
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
- Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
12 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.