Product Description

Probably the most enigmatic garden in Europe, the Sacred Wood (Sacro Bosco) at Bomarzo in central Italy has been called extravagant, mysterious, unholy, surrealist and good fun. In the 16th century, Lord Vicino Orsini had the cliffs and boulders in the valley below his palace carved into grottoes, fountains, allees and bowers. The recurring theme of the works is the struggle of the soul to distinguish between earthly and divine love, to see what is real and what illusion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #536941 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

About the Author
JESSIE SHEELER is the author of Little Sparta: The Garden of Ian Hamilton Finlay.

Customer Reviews

A TREASURE FOR HISTORIANS AND GARDEN ENTHUSIASTS


The Sacred Wood at Bomarzo, Italy is arguably the most puzzling and fascinating garden in all of Europe. Created in the mid-sixteenth century by Vincino Orsini, Lord of Bomarzo, as a tribute to his late beloved wife, Giulia, it lies in a wooded valley below the Orsini palace so that Vincino could look out upon his spectacular composition.

Many of us have visited and strolled the more formal gardens - the Farnese or Borghese. This, the Bosco dei Mostri (Monsters Wood) as it is also called, is a far cry from sculptured hedges and carefully laid out pathways. It is the home of enormous, often grotesque creatures - a two-faced herm, the Mask of Madness, and the Mouth of Hell. These denizens of the garden confound most, and it is left to Classic scholar Jessie Sheeler to explicate not only the statuary but also the carved texts accompanying them.

The garden is considered to be a reflection of Vincino's thinking, perhaps his search for meaning. Fortunately, many of his letters are still in existence, which give us an inkling of his ideas. We can read his comment to a friend, "I prefer living here among these woods to being immersed in the falsities and vanities of the courts, especially that of Rome."

While a precise account of who the man was is probably lost to us, his garden remains an incredible sight after having been restored some 25 years ago. Mark Edward Smith's photographs are stunning and The Garden At Bomarzo is both a treasure and a puzzle for both historians and garden enthusiasts.

- Gail Cooke