2. THE RUSPOLI CASTLE
Just a few kilometers away from
Rome, located in the province of
Viterbo, in a small town named
Vignanello, you can visit Castello
Ruspoli. The garden, considered one
of the most important in Italy, was
created in 1611. The Castle offers an
extensive range of activities, such as:
guided tours, events, weddings,
private luncheons and dinners,
business conferences and special
tours.
3. The castle have four angular bastions and a
deep moat. The actual aspect has been
obtained from a medieval fortress that was the
work of the Benedictines. The castle is known
not only for the legend of Signorino Ghost but
also for its gardens. This large flat space is
located at the east of the building and is
characterized by four avenues that define
twelve lined and squared boxwood parterres
which enclose a tub in the center. This garden
consists of an abstract geometric design. The
garden is the only part that have remained
intact over the years.
4. THE LEGEND OF SIGNORINO
For years people believed that in castles
lived ghosts. People from Vignanello tell a
story about a ghost that live in Castello
Ruspoli.
According with the legend, Signorino was a
member of the Ruspoli’s family and he liked
go hunting in the large park near the castle.
He had a bolognese dog and he was really
fond of this it. When the dog died, Signorino
decided to conserve its dead body in a huge
coffer and he covered it with golden
doubloons and gems. After he buried the
coffer in Cocchio, a park near the castle that
was, in this period, larger than now.
5. The word spread out and a thief tried
to find the chest digging potholes all
around the castle’s garden. When he
arrived near the burial site, he heard
the hoofbeats of an horse. He saw the
ghost of Signorino riding the horse and
he ran away. The people that lived near
the castle started to close all the
shutters during the night for the fear
but the ghost started go through the
walls.
Today people still claim that you can
hear during the night the hoofbeats of
the horse and you can see Signorino
through the windows of the castle.
6. CLAUDIA RUSPOLI AND THE GHOST
The princess, Claudia Ruspoli, is a witness
of abnormal episodes that are difficult to
explain. She say that too many visitors
every day see and hear ghosts in the castle.
Also she said that chairs and furnishings
often moved from a place to another and,
during the night, she can hear steps from
the upstairs, where there are only empty
room. She have even saw a person with
eighteenth-century clothes.
7. THE PRISMA ASSOCIATION
Last June, the princess heard some
strange noises from the downstair. She
thought that was one of her guests but the
morning after Claudia found some
furnishings moved away. She tried also to
move them again but she can’t. Days after
this event she started to feel some
presences in the castle and she started to
feel scared. For these reasons she called
the PRISMA, an associations that tried to
find proofs about this ghost.
8. The group is made up with 4 expert and a
medium, Bianca Chiovelli. The association
investigate on mysteries, paranormal
activities, parapsychology, poltergeist and
other event like that.
They placed some sophisticated equipment
like hypersensitive microphones,thermal
imagers, radio frequency detectors and
magnetic field detectors.
The association recorded 4 hours of noises
and now the scholars are trying to decipher
them: they want to know if it’s a ghost to
provocate them.
9. During the investigations, Claudia
Ruspoli said that she think that the
ghost is good.
Also she said that probably there are
many ghosts in the castle because
too many people lived in it.
The ghosts inside the castle are a
part of it and many tourists came
here to visit it and try to see
Signorino. She don’t feel scared
anymore and she thinks that the
ghosts are like inhabitants for the
castle and they want only protect
their things.
