parco dei mostri

When you enter the woodlands at this park, you step into history, as well as into the subconscious of the fascinating man who made the garden. In 1552, Vicino Orsini, a retired soldier, and Duke of Orsino, began to transform the enormous tufa boulders which were scattered across his property into fanciful and sometimes alarming statues. Artisans carved the living rock into images from classical mythology, or into images which seem to echo dreams...or nightmares. Alongside the giant sculptures are numerous sayings (all in Italian) which purport to explain the meanings of the statues, but which actually just make the messages even more cryptic. This is a garden for the senses...not for analysis. If you visit on a weekday, you'll probably have to dodge occasional mobs of noisy schoolchildren who have been let loose in what Orsini called his "boschetto" (or "little wood"), but their excitement is appropriate, given the allure of this magical setting, where the moss-covered statues all seem just to have awakened from a deep sleep. For centuries after Orsini's death, the gardens were nearly forgotten. Happily, in 1949, art critic Mario Praz and his friend Salvador Dali visited; the film they made afterwards about Bomarzo reminded the World of this lost treasure.

We had some extra time and decided to visit on our way down to Rome. I enjoyed this place a lot and would definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area.

The place is beautiful and the statues are astonishing, is a bit like coming back to childhood! A must see if you are travelling to Rome or Florence!EnjoyF

It's a lovely place. For obvious reasons, maintaining such park is not easy but I found it nice. They should put signs to indicate the route one should take. Dogs are not allowed, OF COURSE: WOULD YOU TAKE YOUR DOG TO THE FORI ROMANI? I guess one can take their dogs to public parks: it's called common sense. They should make children pay more than adults as they play around and totally ruin the atmosphere of the place.

Go on a nice day and enjoy this beautiful park for a few hours! I read the reviewers that felt it was overpriced, but I don't think you will feel that way if you give yourself time to hang out...Have a Tea Party. The sculptures are fantastic and filled with humor and mythological beasts. We went with our 10 year old son and he took a ton of photos...There is a quote etched into a stone that says something like "If you have come here with raised eyebrows looking down your nose for grand art you have come to the wrong place." If that's not you-you'll find it Magical!

This is an excellent day trip from Rome or on the way out of Rome into Tuscany. If you're an art fan, you'll definitely enjoy the connection to Dali. But these sculptures stand out on their own merit as well. The star on the show, in my opinion, is the hell mouth. Although it's a bit infested with mosquitos inside, it's definitely a wonderful photo op and if you're a singer, the acoustics are insane. Thoroughly enjoyable. If you're looking for a tip, I'd visit this place and then drive to Capalbio to visit the absolutely incredible Tarot Garden sculptures. That would be a slam dunk of a day!

This was a fun and unexpected trip. I was there in November 1996 and my friends and I had the place almost to ourselves. The Monsters were very interesting.

We had a wonderful time visiting Parco die Mostri and Villa Lante in the same day. They are two extremely different styles of landscape. This park is in a wonderful wooded location. The sculptures here blend right into the landscape. Monsters, giants, a giant turtles, elephants in battle ,nymphs and a tilted house were all a delight. Prince Pier Francesco Orsini had quite an imagination. I would love to return.

From the very first "monster" we came across, I was hooked! I love, love, love this place! I was so very fortunate that some friends were willing to drive the 1.5 hours from Rome to Bomarzo to visit this amazing "garden". If you have an opportunity to go, GRAB IT!

If you are in the area of Viterbo, don't pass this wonderful place. Just on the outskirts of the town of Bomarzo, the park lies in a sheltered valley and within its acres , houses a collection of wonderful 16th century sculptures & buildings that were built to astonish. They still do... Count Orsini had them created to mourn the passing of his beloved wife , and they are a mixture of the beautiful and the macabre - still in excellent condition. There is a café, toilets and you are given a route map to make sure you don't miss any of them - so great fun for all the family. Some of the topography of the site is a little steep, so if your a little immobile - you may decide not to do the complete route.

I have found this park fascinating because it brought back my memories from my travel to Asia. The park is located in the beautiful forest and the randomly dropped sculptures create the mysterious ambience. Very interesting place to visit.

The park in itself is beautiful and the setting of those old statues in nature is simply breathtaking. Adults enjoy figuring out the clues of the initiation ritual that obviously inspired the architect of the place whereas children will enjoy the park itself and the natural environment.

Well worth a visit, even with young children. The statues are fascinating for adults and children and the entrance fee was not excessive for what you see, considering the upkeep needed.

Without a car you need to do abit of forward planning to get to the Park of Monsters. The Cotral blue buses leave from the bus terminal 10 minutes walk from Porto Fiornetino gate. It only takes about 25 minutes Eur1.30 each way. You need to ask the bus driver to tell you when you reach Bomarzo and even then for me he forgot but only had to walk a little further back to the stop. It's just outside the Farmacia (little rounabout). Walk down the hill but instead of following the directions for cars which took me along the main road outside of town, it's easier to walk through the historic centre...you will need to ask the general direction that will take you out to the other side (there's a fountain). Keep walking down past a car park and you will see signs to the park entrance on the right. Somehow half the fun of seeing a place is the satisfaction of getting there by not the easy option of a car.

I wanted to visit this park after watching Monty Don’s Italian Gardens, Part 1 - Rome. Check it out on YouTube for more info.Visiting by public transport can be done. It’s just a little tricky and you need to do some homework. To get there, a walk of less than 30 minutes is involved. It’s all downhill, but then you have to walk back up the hill of course. It’s not going to be a big deal for most adults. I probably wouldn’t enjoy doing it with children though.Is it worth it? Absolutely. I loved Parco dei Mostri.I used the village of Orte as a base. Orte consists of Orte Sopra and Orte Scalo. You can get to Orte Sopra via one of the small orange buses that runs regularly from Orte railway station (located at Orte Scalo).There’s a bus stop (and shelter) at the base of the hill/butte/cliff/escarpment which is Orte Sopra. The stop is near the corner of Via L. De Dominicis and Via Via Giacomo Matteotti (shown on Apple Maps as Pubblica Passeggiata).Buy a bus ticket to Bomarzo from a bar only a 100 metres or so from the bus shelter. There’s a few in the vicinity, keep asking until you find the right one. Be sure to buy 2 tickets, one to get you there, the other to get you back. The cost will be around 3 euro for both tickets.Catch the bus back at the shelter. It's close to a pedestrian crossing. There’s nothing to indicate it’s a bus stop, you have to guess. You want to take the bus going up the hill, away from the Orte railway station. You want a blue bus run by Cotral S.p.A.Get the latest bus time table from the Cotral S.p.A. website. Do a google search Partenze Da Orte – Cotral SpA. Look for partenze orario via rifugio, Orte (departure times from the shelter at Orte). Departure times from the Orte Shelter in July 2014 were 05:55, 08:05, 10:50, 16:15, 18:15. Expect the bus to take around 20 minutes to get to Bomarzo.Watch the GPS on your smartphone while on the bus. You need to get off the bus at the intersection of Via del Piano and Strada Provinciale 20 (perhaps shown on your map as SP20 or Via dell’Elce). This is a T-instersection with a pharmacy (farmacia) on the corner.You’ll see a number of signs at the intersection, one will indicate the direction of Parco dei Mostri. You now have a walk of around 20 to 30 minutes ahead of you, all downhill.Walk down the hill through the old medieval village of Bomarzo. The colourless grey tonings of the many buildings provides an unsettling atmosphere (in a medieval sort of way). Soak it up, it’s great.After about 400 metres, the road begins to veer to the right (to the right of the large Orsini castle and tower). Instead, work your way down to the left, through the village. Yes, you’ll find lots of narrow streets and it looks as though you’ll get lost, but push on. The village is not that big, you won’t get lost. Just keep walking downhill until you come to a bitumen road (shown as Via del Lavatoio on Google Maps).Parco dei Mostri is only a few more hundred metres to go. Go left at Via del Lavatoio, (downhill) and keep winding downhill as the road becomes Via Madonna della Valle (as shown on Google Maps). If you find yourself any more than a few hundred metres from the village, then you’ve walked too far. It’s not likely to happen though, you should be fine.Return using the same route. It’s all uphill of course, but for most adults it’s not that difficult.Sit on the steps outside the pharmacy for the bus. There’s nothing to indicate it’s a bus stop. It will be travelling in the same direction as when you got off. The tricky thing is that you need to keep watching for the bus. You only have a 3 second window of opportunity in seeing it as it comes around the corner. Make sure you stick your hand out to let the driver know you’re there. You don’t want to have to wait several hours for the next bus. I caught the last bus of the day at 20:40. Anxiety levels were high.Check the Cotral S.p.A. website for departure times from Bomarzo. Do a google search on Partenze Da Bomarzo – Cotral SpA. Departure times for July 2014 were 12:00, 13:35, 18:10, 20:40.Enjoy the day. There’s adventure in hoping everything runs according to plan. Allow yourself 2 or 3 hours in the park and an hour for walking. The park is wonderful.