Sacro Bosco di Bomarzo | Grandi Giardini Italiani

History

The Sacred Wood of Bomarzo, or Park of the Monsters, as it is commonly called because of the presence of grotesque sculptures scattered around a woodland, was the brainchild of Prince Pier Francesco (called Vicino) Orsini in 1552.

The surreal landscape, like a natural amphitheatre, displays a menacing population of boulders. The rocks, carved on the spot, taking on the shape of terrible creatures, dotted along steep paths, among trees and wild vegetation. The wood, though partaking in full of the erudite architectural-naturalistic culture of the second half of the sixteenth century, is unique. It differs from the refined Italian Renaissance gardens in the absence of a logical order and a pre-established course. An authentic hermeneutic labyrinth of silences, allusions and illusions, the Park represents the life challenge of its eccentric creator, who desired to show how people dignified places and not vice versa. The diverse elements are freed from any perspectival bonds; nor are they conjoined by any coherence of proportion. Indeed, classical restraint gives way to constructing with gigantic elements a bewildering relation with Nature.

The nightmarish but also light-hearted quality of the magical forest are salient features of the chivalric romance which was fashionable at the time. A continuous reciprocity of poetic passages and iconographic inventions that permeates the park renders it a place in which art and literature converge. The imaginative criteria continue to elude even the most ardent scholars today, while the on-going complex maintenance and restoration work offers visitors to the Sacred Wood an itinerary to visit and discover it which is as close as possible to the prince's original idea. Indeed, in order to test the cultural skills of its users, Orsini carefully avoided any obvious explanation, introducing only riddles whose solutions must come from the visitors themselves.

Travel notes

Less than an hour's drive from Rome and easily accessible by train, the unique Monster Park offers visitors a diverse array of emotions and experiences with every visit. The long entrance path, followed by a large, verdant flowerbed, gives no indication of the mystical atmosphere that awaits as soon as you pass through the archway leading into the most captivating part of the forest, where the vegetation becomes denser and a monstrous creature appears at every turn.

The first to greet us are the Greek sphinxes, placed next to the Orsini coat of arms, seemingly warning the visitor and reminding them of their role as guardians of the sacred cities. Continuing along the path to the left, you'll find statues depicting the most ancient deities, such as Saturn, Janus, Faun, Evando, and the Triple Hecate, until you reach a broken and uprooted boulder on the ground. On the pediment are figures reminiscent of the Tomb of the Siren located in the Etruscan city of Sovana. Descending the stairs to your right, you'll reach the famous depiction of the battle between the giants, and further on, at the waterfall, you'll be captivated by the beauty of the enormous tortoise carrying Nike, the personification of winged victory, on its back. Near the sculptural group is the winged Pegasus, immortalized as he is about to take flight to announce his victory to the gods. Past the nymphaeum, the Virile Venus, and the amphitheater, you'll reach the famous Leaning House, built on a sloping rock.

Continue further, and to your amazement, you'll see Neptune, the god of the seas, enthroned in a gigantic basin. And admire the sleeping goddess, whom Pirro Ligorio calls Nyphe, the goddess Ceres and the most gigantic creature in the park, the elephant, which supports a tower, symbol of Hannibal's Carthaginian battles against Rome, before ending up in the jaws of the winged dragon! The final emotion is provided by the Ogre, often the emblem of the park, with its warning every thought flies a modified paraphrase of the famous verse from Dante's Inferno abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Grandi Giardini Italiani Srl

Grandi Giardini Italiani Srl