In December 1894, Nicolau Raurich settled in Rome, where he quickly established a relationship with the colony of Spanish artists residing in the Italian capital such as Francisco Pradilla (1848–1921), Ramon Tusquets (1838–1904) or José Villegas (1844–1921), among others. All of them continued to work in the style initiated by Mariano Fortuny (1838–1874), although Raurich produced the kind of painting that was more aligned with that of landscape painter Enric Serra (1859–1918), as much for the theme of the Pontine Marshes as for the romantic aesthetic. Serra had already garnered international success in Rome with this theme; the landscape is approached in a realistic manner and a sense of abandonment invades the composition, generating a strong and strange feeling of melancholy.

After several trips around Europe and intermittent stays in Barcelona, Raurich returned to Rome in 1896. At this time, he focused his attention on the theme of the Roman lagoons as Serra had done previously. The spectacular and sensitive manner with which he depicted these landscapes, in a romantic register, gave him recognition and awards in official competitions. Of these large-format compositions, of particular note is his treatment of the multiple nuances that this theme allowed, as well as his mastery in capturing the mist, coldness and feeling of a pure and dramatic natural landscape where human intervention is non-existent.

Some famous compositions of this period are Ruinas de Ninfa (Ruins of Ninfa) andPantanos de Nemi (Nemi Marshes), both dated to 1896 and presented at the Exposición de Bellas Artes de Madrid (Exhibition of Fine Arts of Madrid). The former was acquired by the politician Cánovas del Castillo, while the latter was awarded the second class medal and was acquired by the Queen Regent for the Museo de Arte Moderno de Madrid (Museum of Modern Art in Madrid). Currently, this work is part of the permanent collection of the Prado Museum. Raurich became well known as the author of Pantanos de Nemi and became a consecrated artist in Spain with the success of his Pontine marshes paintings.

Of the series of landscapes of the marshes on the outskirts of Rome made between 1896 and 1897, Fangal (Lodazal) stands out. This work was presented at the IV Exposición de Bellas Artes e Industrias Artísticas de Barcelona (Fourth Exhibition of Fine Arts and Artistic Industries of Barcelona) of 1898, where it was displayed in the third room and obtained the third class medal. It is a large canvas in which Raurich captures the mysterious atmosphere of the marshes. You can feel the humidity, coldness, and stillness of the standing water on which the reflections of centuries-old near-dead trees are projected, mixed with muddy soil and static plants that are placed diagonally and that stand out due to a more material working and a greater thickness of the pictorial layer. The alternation of types of brushstroke and different ways of applying the pigments increases the attractiveness of the composition and serves to generate diverse effects that achieve a credible atmosphere where the elements are treated in a realistic way. The cloudy sky that envelops the mountains captivates and unsettles us, thus accentuating the dramatic feeling and, ultimately, the romantic character of the composition.