What to see in Bomarzo, an itinerary including the main places of interest and attractions, including Palazzo Orsini, Duomo and Monster Park.
Tourist information
A village in the province of Viterbo, Bomarzo is placed on a spur of rock, located between the Cimini mountains and the valley of the Tiber river.
Palazzo Orsini, composed of various sixteenth-century buildings and seat of the municipality, contains a remarkable hall frescoed by students of Pietro da Cortona.
The palace, which was built on the site where a castle previously stood, consists of two buildings joined by various terraces.
The Cathedral, dating back to the sixteenth century, has an interior where an early Christian sarcophagus and a series of sixteenth-century frescoes are preserved.
In Bomarzo there is the famous Park of the monsters, which owes its name to the original sculptures inside.
What see
This green area, created in 1552 on commission of Vicino Orsini and designed by the architect Pirro Ligorio, consists of a natural park adorned with numerous basalt sculptures, made in the sixteenth century and depicting mythological animals, divinities and monsters, including a dragon in battle, a battle elephant, a giant tearing apart a woman, a mask with her mouth wide open, a sphinx, bears, a harpy, an infernal mask, a giant turtle and a Doric temple dedicated to Giulia Farnese.
As soon as you cross the monumental threshold of the Bosco, you will meet two Sphinxes symbolically placed to guard the park and welcome the visitor with two inviting welcome inscriptions visible below them.
Not far from the Sphinxes is Proteus, the first monster in the park, an immense anthropomorphic mask with its mouth totally open and which seems to emerge from the bowels of the Earth.
Of remarkable beauty is the statue of Hercules and Cacus, nicknamed "the colossus", which represents the struggle between the two giants that give it its name.
The Leaning House, which represents one of the major attractions of the Park, consists of a small building built on an inclined boulder.
