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| A Giant getting rid of an enemy |
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| Pegasus |
The Garden of Bomarzo
Parco dei Mostri
Bosco dei Mostri
| Venus in an alcove. |
This garden is located in
Viterbo, Lazio, Italy, approx. 68 km NNW of Rome. The town has
Estruscan and Roman roots, and was a fiefdom of the powerful Roman
Orsini family. It's creator called it a 'Sacred Grove' or 'The
Monsters' Grove' (Bosco dei Mostri). The grove was built on the
property of the Prince, Vicino Orsini. Orsini enlisted the popular
architect Pirro Ligorio to help create the grove. Ligorio was also
called upon to complete St. Peter's Cathedral after the death of
Michelangelo, so he was an important figure at the time. It is said
Orsini created the garden, or grove, to honor his wife, Guilia
Farnese and was heart broken after her death. In the grove there is
symbolism using the Orsini and Farnese coats of arms and crests. The
grove was greated in the mid-1500's. Some say it was a purposeful
deviation from the careful symmetrical gardens of the time period.
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| Nymph |
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| Cerbero, Three Headed Dog |
The grove lay forgotten
after the death of it's creator, Vicino Orsini, but in 1954, it was
purchased by Giovanni Bettini and repaired and restored. The garden
is the private property of the Bettini family but is open to tourists
and is a destination in the area.
Themes shown in the garden
are mythological and fantastical. It is intended to astonish. The
sculptures are made from 'peperino', volcanic rock, which is easily
sculpted but is not known to hold fine detail. It is a garden of
symbolism, an example of Mannerist or High Renaissance Art.
Mannerist art was seen in
Italy around the time period 1520 to 1580. It is naturalistic and
artificial using compositional tension and instability for expression
unlike earlier Renaissance art. Artist Salvador Dali said this about
the garden, "Bomarzo is in fashion" and wrote an essay
about it.
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| Ogre Face |
Listing of some of the
larger sculptures:
The Estruscan Bench, where
the inscription reads "Voi che pel mondo gite errando, vaghi
di vedere
maraviglie alte e stupende
venite qua, dove
son faccie horrende,
elefanti, leoni,
orsi, orchi e draghi."
"You who travel the
world,
in search of great and
beautiful wonders,
come here, where there are
horrible elephants,
lions, bear, and dragons."
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| Winged Siren |
Entry Statuary-depicting
heads of Roman Gods
Proteus and Glaucus- marine
monster
A masoleum- which has
deteriorated much and fallen over.
A statue of Hercules
slaughtering Cacus representing the fight of good vs. Evil
The Tortoise,
Woman and
Whale
Pegasus- with the three
graces, "The cavern, the source, there of every obscure
thought."
Venus- in an alcove
The old Roman Theatre- "To
remind us of the tragedy and comedy of life."
The Hanging House- an
unsusal sideways actual crooked house made out of stone
Neptune- larger than life
and majestically seated
The Nymph- which is the
'sleeping beauty' of the garden
Ceres-the Goddess patron of
Rome
The War elephant- with tower
and striking down a legionaire
The Dragon- it fights with a
dog, a lion, and a wolf
The Ogre or mouth of Hell-
beware it eats children, and inside are a table and benches used by
Orsini and his guests in the heat of the day, are you
brave enough to
enter?
The Face of Jupiter- the
'mouth of truth'
The Cerberes- the 3 headed
dog who is the guardian of hell
Prosperina- with arms and
legs outstretched
Echidna- with the lions and
a fury, woman and snake
The Temple-built to honor
the wife of Vicino Orsini
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| The face of Proteus |
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| Winged Dragon |
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| War Elephant gripping a soldier's body. |
"Monster must be
understood in the Latin meaning of monstrare, which means to show and
demonstrate." Pirro Ligorio, architect.
Sources: Bomarzo.net,
wikipedia, www.parcodimostri.com,
romeartlover.it/Bomarzo, goitaly.about.com
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| Neptune |
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