Bomarzo Pictures
Italy

Parco dei Mostri, with Hercules implacably tearing Cacus in half.

Bomarzo's weird Monster Park, also known as The Sacred Wood, is an easy 68kms drive from Rome and only 15kms [10miles] from medieval Viterbo.
Constructed in 1552 under the command of Prince Orsini and created by the eye of Vatican architect Pirro Ligorio, Bomarzo is a tranquil, beautiful and bizarre escape from busy Italy, with trickling streams, waterfalls and shady walks interrupted only by vast by mythical creatures or structures representing the union of death and nature.

The Sleeping Nymph - possibly Ariadne - with a puppy watching over her, on one of Bomarzo's leafy walks.

Statues include Cerberus [guardian of the Underworld]; a full-size elephant killing a Roman legionary [recalling Hannibal's attack on Rome]; a dragon fighting a dog, lion and wolf; Pegasus the flying horse; Neptune talking to a dolphin, a leaning house and much more.

Possibly Proteus, Neptune's son and a wild man of the sea, or Glauco, a fisherman who became a sea god after eating a magic herb, though he's certainly not alone in thinking he was a god after consuming 'magic' herbs.

The entrance to the underworld symbolised by an Ogre screaming in terror. Dante's phrase 'every thought flies away' is engraved on his lips.

That's the end of Bomarzo, next images are of Rome.

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