Browsing Tag

Viterbo

Into the Woods –Bomarzo’s Monster Park

We made our way to Bomarzo’s Monster Park on a beautiful autumn day, early enough that the morning fog still hung over the woods adding a decidedly forbidding atmosphere to the place. 

With its strange and beautiful sculptures, eerie wooded pathways and vertigo-inducing tipsy house, I wondered for a moment if Lewis Carroll had taken inspiration from Bomarzo for his Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The dragon symbolizes time and wisdom, rather than destruction. At Bomarzo, the dragon fights a dog, lion and wolf representing spring, summer and winter.

While appearing completely contemporary, this unconventional garden near Viterbo, Italy was commissioned by Prince Pier Francesco “Vicino” Orsini in 1552.    Known for their balance, order and harmony, classical 16th century Italian gardens with their careful geometric designs and extravagant water features seemed to celebrate man’s control over nature. Not so, the wild and woodsy Bomarzo.  

Bomarzo’s winding, woodsy paths are full of surprises.
The giant jaws of the whale warn visitors away from the water.

Created by architect Pirro Ligorio in the Mannerist style, this garden is almost a rebellion against order and a tribute to life’s unpredictability. That’s what makes it so much fun to visit.

Proteus, Neptune’s son, comes from the legend of Glauco, a fisherman who became a sea god.

Instead of being adjacent to or surrounding the owner’s villa like most gardens of the period, this one flourishes in a nearby wood, nearly hidden from view from the palace above.

Il Sacro Bosco, the Sacred Wood, is the opposite of the well-ordered classical 16th century Italian garden.

There is no rhyme or reason to this garden. There doesn’t seem to be a relationship between the sculptures and their placement in the park, though that could have everything to do with the fact that they were all carved from gigantic rocks where the stone stood.

Statues were carved on-site from stones where they stood.

Il Sacro Bosco or the Sacred Wood, as the Monster Park is also known, is home to mermaids, sphinx, dragons, nymphs, fountains, a giant tortoise, and a heroic Hercules, among other fantastical sculptures.

The tortoise symbolizes the feminine powers of water and ancient knowledge.

Originally the sculptures would have been painted in bright colors.  None of that remains today though some pieces are covered in downy green moss. I was slightly disappointed to see the tortoise had recently had her nice coat of soft green moss removed, though she was still a striking figure. 

An elephant carrying a castle was a popular medieval symbol and reference to Hannibal’s use of elephants to invade the Italian peninsula.
This elephant, holding a wounded or dead soldier, represents Rome’s victories and defeats.

Many of the Bomarzo’s sculptures have historical, religious and cultural significance.  Some are meant to be puns or puzzles.  Others may have had meanings which have long been lost over the nearly 500 years since the garden was created.  The brochure we received with our tickets gave explanations for all of the 35 key sculptures, as well as serving as a guide through the park.  

The sleeping nymph, which represents purity in Greek mythology, is both human and divine.

The Ogre, or L’Orco, king of the underworld, is at the center of the garden and one of the most popular sculptures at Bomarzo. I found a photo of surrealist artist Salvador Dali sitting in the “Mouth of Hell” in 1938! He was so inspired by the Monster Park that he made a short film about the gardens.

A school group posed in front of the giant sculpture amid much jostling and laughter, clearly enjoying the monsters and whimsical creatures throughout the park.

The inscription above the entrance says, “Abandon all thought,” a reference, and maybe a tribute, to Dante Alighiere’s Divine Comedy- Inferno, where a warning above the Gates of Hell reads, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” Don’t be put off. Inside the mouth, visitors will find cool respite and a small built- in table and seats.  It’s a perfect place for contemplation and perhaps a picnic.

Just try to walk around inside the Leaning House without losing your balance!

Another popular stop, the Leaning House doesn’t seem so disorienting until you get inside and try to explore the rooms. There’s not much to see other than the family crest and motto. It is a vertiginous experience at best and not a place to linger—purposefully, scholars think. Some believe that the house represents the falling fortunes of the Orsini family, but nearly 500 years on, the house still stands!

Proserpina welcomes visitors to the hippodrome area.

Hiding around every corner or peeking through the trees are heroic and monumental figures.  Proserpina, wife of Pluto, stands in for Diana and Juno greeting visitors with open arms.  An enormous Hercules—a protector of good, is shown subduing the evil Caucus.  Ceres appears with her circle of babies.

Hercules, protecting the poor, vanquishes Caucus, who stole food from them.

Neptune towers over the basin, while the open jaws of a whale warn visitors away from the water. Nearby, a giant nymph is both human and divine– a reference to the sleeping Ariadne. There are Furies, a pegasus, dolphins, lions and other mythical and magical creatures throughout the garden.

The Winged Fury is of Greek origin and also played an important role in Roman religion. The Furies were considered guardians of national glory and the fertility of the soil.

There are large vases with inscriptions no longer decipherable, benches with messages in Latin, and much more that will surprise and delight around every turn.

Some of the benches have Latin inscriptions.
Scholars think this sculpture represents Bacchus’s descent into hell, goblet in hand. Medusa’s head is carved into the bottom of the giant vase.

Il Sacro Bosco was created as a memorial to Prince Orsini’s late wife, Guilia Farnese, of the wealthy Farnese family.  Their money helped fund the garden, which her broken- hearted husband intended as a manifestation of his grief and a place of shock and surprise.

Il Sacro Bosco was created as a tribute to Orsini’s late wife, Guilia Farnese.

A Pegasus in the garden represents Orsini’s in-laws– the Farnese family. The Temple of Eternity was built 20 years after the original garden as a memorial to Guilia and was designed with roses associated with the Orsini family.

Wander as you like, but if you follow the suggested trail in the park’s brochure you’ll see all of the key sculptures and sights in this fascinating garden.

Visitors are welcome to wander freely through the paths, but following the trail outlined on the brochure’s itinerary will ensure that you won’t miss a single one of the extraordinary sculptures and sights waiting in the Sacred Wood at Bomarzo. While the traditional gardens of the period we visited– including Villa Farnese, Villa Lante and Villa D’Este–are stunning, Bomarzo is absolutely fascinating. We’ve never experienced anyplace like it!