Gardens of Bomarzo

The Gardens of Bomarzo, also known as the Sacro Bosco (“Sacred Grove”) or Parco dei Mostri (“Park of the Monsters”), is a haunting and dreamlike sculpture garden nestled in the hills of northern Lazio, Italy. Commissioned in the mid-1500s by Prince Pier Francesco Orsini, the garden was designed not for beauty—but to astonish, disturb, and perhaps reflect the grief of its creator after the loss of his wife.

Scattered among the moss-covered trees and winding paths are gigantic stone monsters, mythological creatures, leaning buildings, and cryptic inscriptions. Highlights include a giant screaming mouth visitors can walk into, a tilting “House of Madness,” and a towering ogre devouring another creature. The symbolic meanings behind the sculptures remain largely unexplained, giving the garden an eerie, surreal atmosphere that has fascinated artists and occultists for centuries.

Long abandoned and overgrown, the garden was rediscovered in the 20th century and gradually restored. Today it stands as one of Europe’s strangest Renaissance sites—a poetic, grotesque, and deeply personal monument to sorrow, myth, and mystery.