Horrors Await in the Gardens of Bomarzo

The Park of Monsters was a Renaissance-era declaration of love

The Hell Mouth in the Gardens of Bomarzo. Edited by the author. By Livioandronico2013 from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Dozens of moss-covered stone sculptures abut a forest close to the Italian town of Bomarzo, north of Rome. Lions, a giant, a fury, a nymph, and more shapes haunt the garden. Unlike many gardens, it does not look like a place of gentle repose — grotesque expressions, irregular patterns, cryptic inscriptions cause disquiet in an onlooker’s heart. This Renaissance creation tells a unique story.

Personal tragedies in art

Pier Francisco Orsini was born in 1523, into a noble family that boasted several popes, cardinals, generals, and influential political figures. This young Duke of Bomarzo would become a general in the Papal army during the Italian Wars. During a clash in Artois, a town in northern France, his close friend (Orazio Farnese) would die, whereafter German forces captured Orsini. He remained a prisoner of war for years despite his ardent wishes to return home.

“The battle of Marciano in Val di Chiana” by Giorgio Vasari. Edited by the author. By Google Art Project from Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).

Captivity changed Orsini. After his release, he devoted himself to Epicureanism, which advocates for a simple life with simple pleasures. He couldn’t…