Bomarzo, a village in Lazio at the foot of Mount Cimino, possesses a unique work, the Villa of Marvels, also called the Sacred Wood or Park of Monsters. lt was designed by Prince Vicino Orsini and the great architect Pirro Ligorio in 1552.
The park is unique, even if it belongs to the erudite architectural-naturalistic culture of the second half of the sixteenth century. Refined ltalian style gardens follow geometric and perspective rationality with embellishments such as wide terraces, fountains with water games and mannerist sculptures. On the contrary the learned Prince of Bomarzo dedicated himself to creating an eccentric "wood" having the blocks of peperino emerging from the ground sculpted into enigmatic figures of monsters, dragons, mythological subjects and exotic animals, a crooked house, a funerary temple, fountains, seats and obelisks with carved mottoes and inscriptions.
The Sacred Wood is an unusual solution which does not follow sixteenth century usage; the different elements have no perspective relationship between each other and have no coherence or common proportions. Everything is invented with iconological criteria which escape even the most impassioned scholars, a labyrinth of symbols which envelopes anyone who enters. They inspired many artists at the time including Annibal Caro, Bitussi and Cardinal Madruzzo. After the death of Vicino Orsini nobody took charge of the place and it only began to be appreciated by intellectuals and artists such as Claude Lorrain, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Salvador Dali, Mario Praz and Maurizio Calvesi after centuries of neglect.
The entrance is free of charge with the following rates:
TICKET PRICE: € 11.00
CHILDREN (4 to 13 years): € 8.00
DISABLED NOT SELF-SUFFICIENT: Free
Note: no booking required
It requires a letter of introduction
GROUPS: € 9,00
(The groups must be at least 30 people, a free entry ticket will be reserved for the companion of each group)
DISABLED NOT SELF-SUFFICIENT: Free
Free entrance for the bus driver.
Free guide book
It's provides a guided tour service for a fee and by reservation.
IMPORTANT: for recognition of the tariff groups (min. 30 people) must be booked
at least 5 days before the visit to the following contacts:
- telefono: 0761/924029
- fax: 0761/924029
- email: info@parcodeimostri.com
The Management reserves the right to change prices and conditions without prior notice.
It requires a letter of introduction to the school with a list of students.
STUDENTS:
- from 4 to 17 y.o. € 6,00
- from 18 y.o. € 8,00
TEACHERS: € 6.00
(groups of 15 people have a tribute for teacher accompanist)
PARENTS: € 8.00
DISABLED NOT SELF-SUFFICIENT: Free
Free entrance for the bus driver.
Free guide book
It's provides a guided tour service for a fee and by reservation.
IMPORTANT: for recognition of the tariff Schools must be booked
at least 5 days before the visit to the following contacts:
- telefono: 0761/924029
- fax: 0761/924029
- email: info@parcodeimostri.com
- Booking compulsory lunches or picnics at the following email address:
info@parcodeimostri.com
The park is open every day of the year without a lunch break.
From monday to sunday.
0In the months of November, December, January, February: h 8.30 am - 5.00 pm
From March (with daylight saving time) to September h 8.30 am - 7.00 pm
October h 8.30am - 6.00pm
We kindly ask you to respect nature and the surrounding environment.
Don't abandon waste.
Use the appropriate baskets.
The rubbish dispersed in the environment is very polluting and takes from several months to thousands of years to biodegrade.
Biodegradable paper napkins take almost a year to destroy.
Plastic bags are indestructible.
The 100 year old aluminum cans.
Cigarette butts 5 years.
Do not throw the butts on the ground, insert harmful and polluting substances.
Don't pick the flowers.
Don't detach the bulbs.
Don't break the branches.
Each natural element has its own fundamental function for the balance of the ecosystem
(also Insects, molluscs etc.).
Respect the Silence.
Avoid screaming and shouting.
The presence of dogs in gardens, woods and open-air museums can constitute a health and hygiene risk, and a problem of decorum due to the lack of education of whoever leads the animal, as well as presenting a safety problem due to possible attacks on visitors.
These simple rules of good education and common sense will be enforced by the guardian, applying the penalties provided for by the L.P. 18/88.
The visitor to the Bosco Sacro, at the time of ticket purchase, accept the general conditions regulating the entry in the Park and the use of services offered.
- NO PICNIC
- DON'T SMOKE
- USE THE RELEVANT BASKETS
- DO NOT CLIMB ON THE SCULPTURES
- RESPECT THE GREEN
- DO NOT RUSH
- ALLOWED ONLY GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND
- DO NOT PHOTOGRAPH WITH PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT
Park staff is authorized to supervise the observance of all rules of conduct laid down in this Regulation, and reserves the right to deny access, or to request removal from the park, without any refund to users who take inappropriate conduct and/or dangerous to themselves and others.
Sacro Bosco
loc. Giardino s.n.c
01020 Bomarzo
(VT) Italy
Tel. 0761/924029
Fax 0761/924174
- For press office, events, shooting and audiovisual productions.E-mail: press.sacroboscobomarzo@gmail.com
- General infoE-mail: info@parcodeimostri.com
