[.ca] The Garden at Bomarzo: A Renaissance Riddle (ISBN 0711226733)

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