Mammoth Madness

Sunday, October 23

Around 20 minutes north of us is a town called Bomarzo. Like many towns around here, it is a hill town held up by tufo and beautifully decorated with the burnt orange roof tiles at varying levels. Beneath the walls, in a wooded area around a mile away is a park called the Sacred Wood or the Park of Monsters.

In the middle of the 16th century, Vicino Orsini had this garden of monsters created in honor of his deceased wife and/or to impress visitors and/or images of his madness. It's the original theme park of monsters, ogres, sphinxes, dragons, lions, dolphins, nymphs and bears. And, that is just the beginning. The statues are attributed to the artist Pirro Ligorio, who must have had quite the time trying to satisfy this Orsini prince's desires. Even though we had a map, we never knew exactly what we would see next in this monstrous and imaginative grove.

Trying to decipher any meaning was challenging, too. Orsini was inspired by literature and ancient mythology mixed with death and promiscuity; there was no real key to this insanity, just shock value.

There are some clues though. This is Orlando Mad, Orlando Furioso; A giant whose heart has just been broken now breaking his opponent in two.

This demon mimics Dante's advice, "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here" with the word reason replacing hope. Neil was making demonic sounds when Eleni jumped out of the mouth of hell here.

Cerebrus guarding the Underworld.

The back of a Fury, (maybe in keeping with the tone here - Lyssa the goddess of rage), lions, and looking straight at us is the Mermaid Echina (mother of many demons).

Of course, Persephone, Queen of Hades! Her mother, Ceres, was close by as well.

The juxtaposition of these innocent cherubs...

In the midst of all of this, it was calming to see some fall foliage. We had a picnic of sorts on a hill in the garden and then some coffee in the playground area. It started to rain just as we were leaving the madness of Bomarzo.

The rain didn't last too long though and we were on our way to another deserted archeological site called Ferento. Someone had already cut the fence way before we arrived! No ticket booth, just one moldy sign.

In these hills across from our bandit-type break in, there is a necropolis. Of course, you can mark this territory as Etruscan. Today, this valley is home to sheep and goats complete with their bleating and constant bell clanging. Atmospheric.

Thanks to the 11th century Viterbesi, who were destructive here and constructive there, this 4th century BC Roman town has little left to show for itself but a load of rubble, a theatre and baths complex.

However, the sites that the under eleven-year-old set were most interested in were the porcupine quills and one ten-year-old wanted to take this bug home with him.

That did not happen. But, pizza love did.
We had such a great visit with Neil's sister and family this weekend. Our two October visits have made such a difference in our children's immersion experience here. These glimpses of their old lives have been invaluable. No madness here.