As part of the plan for the renewal of our park and gardens at the Villa Lante Center, we created new outdoor prayer spaces, including a meditation garden with a labyrinth in the shape of a heart, surrounded by benches, trees, cactuses, roses, hydrangeas, lilies and other flowers.
Centuries ago, labyrinths were created for people who could not make the long pilgrimage to Rome or to the Holy Land.
A labyrinth is not a maze that one walks for fun, making choices about turns and getting lost, but rather is unicursal, with one path leading to the center and out again, a form of walking prayer.
One way of walking a labyrinth is simply to pause at the entrance, breathe, then slowly walk the path, letting go/releasing as you spiral into the heart, pausing in the center to receive, then allowing yourself to simply return as you are spiralling out.
During a retreat, on a break during intense meetings, after a day of exploring historic Rome, at sunrise or sunset, the labyrinth beckons and refreshes the soul.
It seems we offer the only unicursal labyrinth in Rome with a spiritual dimension, created with old Villa Lante ceramic tiles, surrounded by lush greenery, fruit trees and blooming vines, inviting benches, the chattering of bright green parakeets, a verdant oasis in the middle of Trastevere.
All labyrinths are connected for the highest good of the world.