Last updated on 23 May 11
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Sacro Bosco/Villa Orsini

3.5/5 (2 ratings)

© Andrea Marutti
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Gardenvisit Editorial

As pure fantasy, this garden is without equal. It was made in a wood and many of its giant sculptures were carved from living rock. Stylistically, Bomarzo represents a step towards the drama of the Baroque. Poking gentle fun at the egotistical iconography of the Este and the Medici families, it is also a pre-cursor of the English landscape garden. With the elegant taste of a renaissance duke, Vincino Orsini created features with some resemblence to those in a modern theme park. But his aims were altogether serious. Orsini was a military captain with literary tastes. He conceived the garden as a Sacred Wood (Sacro Bosso), inspired by the description of Arcadia in Virgil's Aeneid. There is an enormous laughing mask. A moss-covered tortoise supports a statue of fame. A leaning house illustrates the corrupt state of the world. A stone dragon sits beside an oversized Etruscan vase. The figures came from Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. The garden reaches its culmination in a Temple of Divine Love. The Sacro Bosso does not appear in pre-1950 books on Italian gardens. Public interest revived after an enthusiastic visit by the surrealist painter Salvator Dali in 1948.

Address - Parco dei Mostri, Bomarzo, Lazio, Italy
Opening times - All year, Open 8.30 am to dusk
Admission - Entrance fee
Website - Visit the Sacro Bosco/Villa Orsini website

Local Hotels

Hotels within 30km as the crow flies from this garden.

Palazzo Orsini (2km away)
From €70.00 to €120.00
Hotel Umbria (3km away)
From €54.00 to €90.00
Hotel Il Roscio (4km away)
From €42.00 to €82.00
Palazzo Catalani (7km away)
From €79.00 to €230.00
Villa La Cerretana (7km away)
From €120.00 to €225.00
La Bastia (8km away)
From €50.00 to €100.00
Hotel Ristorante Biscetti (9km away)
From €58.00 to €95.00
La Chiesuola (9km away)
From €75.00 to €100.00

Nearby Gardens

Gardens within 30km as the crow flies from this garden.

Villa Lante (9km away)
(4.6/5)
Castello Ruspoli Garden (11km away)
(5.0/5)
Palazzo Farnese (17km away)
(3.5/5)
Isola Bisentina Garden (25km away)

Luxury Garden Hotels

Nearby Recommended Garden Hotels

Palace Hotel Relais Falisco

Recent Reviews

9 months ago Adam hodge said
Whilst the woodland setting was delightful and pleasantly tranquil the juxtaposition of the weird and quite sinister sculptures was unsettling.
Might be worth revisiting now one knows the background and point of the different stone creations.

(2.0/5)
over 3 years ago Anonymous said
This was one of my favorite gardens. It's different then many of the others, the sculptures aren't like the classic marble ones, as well all kinds of symbolism throughout. The sculptures are kind of bizarre and it should also be noted that the way the garden is set up now, you don't walk through it as it was designed to be walk through.

(5.0/5)

See all the reviews of Sacro Bosco/Villa Orsini

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