An hour away from Rome by Private Vehicle, Bomarzo’s surreal Monster Park was conceived by architect Pirro Ligorio, ironically the same designer who created the Renaissance masterpiece Villa d’Este in Tivoli. Commissioned in 1552 by the distortistraught, recently widowed Prince Orsini, Sacro Bosco was designed to shock, a freakish Monster Garden where giant stone-carved animals and ded mythical figures almost leapt out of the plantings. A Renaissance ‘House of Horrors’, the Park found a modern fan in Salvador Dalí, who made a film about it. Younger Travelers, unmoved by the classical perfection of formal Gardens, may find Sacro Bosco to be just the ticket.
*Note: Lunch is not included.
