Bomarzo Gardens

About

The Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, better known as the Park of the Monsters, is a garden created in the mid-16th century by Pier Francesco "Vicino" Orsini, lord of Bomarzo; official records note that the first phase of work was already done by 1552, and the park presents itself as the oldest sculpture park of the modern world. The garden is said to have been dedicated to his wife Giulia Farnese. Scattered through the woods are figures carved from the local volcanic rock: the gaping-mouthed ogre Orco, an elephant carrying a tower, the leaning house, and the Pegasus fountain, all composed to unsettle the visitor's sense of perspective and balance. After Orsini's death the garden lay abandoned for centuries until the Bettini family bought and restored it in the mid-20th century; Salvador Dalí visited in 1948 and left a vivid record of his impressions.