Benvenuto - Welcome to Bomarzo! I am Ignazio, your host for the week ahead. While you must be hungry, and ready to explore the ancient palazzo that will be your home, I know that what you really want to see is the garden. For it is the garden that everyone really wants to see.
I see you have brought the great Salvador Dalí with you! It makes sense that he has come, for this place is as surreal as his painted fever dreams. Come, let us walk, and I will tell you the story of Italy’s famous garden of monsters.
The Sacro Bosco, or the Sacred Wood, is a Mannerist garden that defies the conventions of its age, where the surreal and the mystical collide. It is here, in this labyrinth of stone and shadows, that I fulfill my purpose to you as both guardian and guide, for this is no ordinary place—it is a realm where the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead blur.
Pier Francesco Orsini, born in 1523, and known to most as Vicino, thought he was the one who had the idea for the garden. But what few understand is that Vicino’s vision was not born merely from grief or intellectual curiosity; it was shaped by something far deeper, something that even he could scarcely comprehend. I, Ignazio, imagined these paths long before Vicino carved his dreams into stone.
Portrait of a Young Man (Pier Francesco (Vicino) Orsini), by Lorenzo Lotto 1525
Vicino’s life was one of paradox—he was a soldier and a lover, a man of action and contemplation. After the death of his beloved wife, Giulia Farnese, he poured his passions into the creation of Sacro Bosco. But this garden was not merely a tribute to her; it was a reflection of his own soul, a place where his thoughts could fly free from the constraints of the mortal world. He might not have known it, but he was guided by forces beyond his understanding, forces that have always held sway in this sacred wood.
The sculptures here—grotesque, massive, and unsettling—are not random decorations. They are symbols, each with its own story, each with its own connection to the ancient myths that have shaped human consciousness for millennia. Take the Orco, for example—the giant, gaping mouth that beckons visitors into darkness. It is no coincidence that this stone monster is one of the first to greet those who enter. The Orco is a gateway, a reminder that death is ever-present and that the Underworld is never far away. The inscription above, Ogni Pensiero Vola—"All Thoughts Fly"—is not just a warning; it is an invitation to leave behind the mundane and to embrace the mysteries that lie beyond.
Further into the garden stands the Casa Storta, or the Twisted House, a structure that defies logic and balance. This house is a testament to the instability of the mortal world, a place where reality itself seems to tilt and shift. As you step inside, the disorientation you feel is no mere trick of architecture; it is a reflection of the chaotic nature of the human soul, forever caught between the forces of order and chaos, between life and death.
And then there are the giants—locked in an eternal struggle, their forms twisted in a battle that seems to transcend time. They are more than just statues; they are representations of the cosmic forces at play in the universe, a reminder of the endless battles fought within every soul. Whether they depict Hercules and Cacus, Orlando Furioso, or some other myth, their presence in the garden serves as a powerful allegory for the struggles that define human existence.
The Sacro Bosco is not just a garden full of monsters—it is a place where the divine and the mortal meet, where the past is alive and the present is but a fleeting moment. It is a place where I find echoes of my own realm, where the boundaries between the Underworld and the world of the living are thin. The air here is thick with the presence of those who have come before, and those who will come after, each adding their own chapter to the garden’s endless story.
Ah, I see you have found Proserpina’s bench! The Queen of the Underworld greets you with open arms. Beyond her Cerberus guards the stair from the Underworld to the realm of the living.
Yes, please, Mr. Dali, feel free to take photos or even make a film! I am flattered you find this place so worthy of memorializing.
But let me continue. Vicino Orsini may have passed from this world, but his creation remains—a testament to his vision, and to the unseen forces that guided his hand. For those who walk these paths, know that you are not alone. I am here, as I have always been, watching, waiting, guiding. The Sacro Bosco is not merely a reflection of the Renaissance mind—it is a glimpse into the eternal, a place where gods and men meet, and where the mysteries of the universe are laid bare.
I will leave you here, ready to walk into the pages of In The Garden of Monsters. Ignore the ghosts. And do enjoy the feast I’ve set before you!
From Crystal King, the bestselling author of Feast of Sorrow and The Chef’s Secret, comes a new gothic mythological romance, In the Garden of Monsters, a retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone, inspired by Salvador Dalí's 1948 visit to the Sacro Bosco Mannerist statue garden.
To learn more about the Sacro Bosco, you can visit the official website here.
A woman with no past. A man who seems to know her. And a monstrous garden that could be the border between their worlds…
Italy, 1948
Julia Lombardi is a mystery even to herself. The beautiful model can’t remember where she’s from, where she’s been or how she came to live in Rome. When she receives an offer to accompany celebrated eccentric artist Salvador Dalí to the Sacro Bosco—Italy’s Garden of Monsters—as his muse, she’s strangely compelled to accept. It could be a chance to unlock the truth about her past…
Shrouded in shadow, the garden full of giant statues that sometimes seem alive is far from welcoming. Still, from the moment of their arrival at the palazzo, Julia is inexplicably drawn to their darkly enigmatic host, Ignazio. He’s alluring yet terrifying—and he seems to know her.
Posing for Dalí as the goddess Persephone, Julia finds the work to be perplexing, particularly as Dalí descends deeper into his fanaticism. To him, she is Persephone, and he insists she must eat pomegranate seeds to rejoin her king.
Between Dalí’s fevered persistence, Ignazio’s uncanny familiarity and the agonizing whispered warnings that echo through the garden, Julia is soon on the verge of unraveling. And she begins to wonder if she’s truly the mythical queen of the Underworld…
Fantasy Historical [MIRA, On Sale: September 24, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780778310570 / eISBN: 9780369751324]
Crystal King is the author of In The Garden of Monsters, The Chef’s Secret, and Feast of Sorrow, which was long-listed at the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and designated as a MassBook Awards Must Read. A social media and AI professor by trade, her writing is fueled by a love of history and a passion for the food, language, and culture of Italy. Crystal has taught writing, creativity, and social media at Harvard Extension School, Boston University, and GrubStreet. A Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and former co-editor of Plum Ruby Review, she holds an MA in critical and creative thinking from UMass Boston.
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