Rome, Florence, Venice – the triad of cities foreigners flock to when they visit Il bel paese and with good reason. They are probably the first cities that come to mind when planning a trip. Rome is where it all began, Florence is the cradle of the Renaissance and Venice’s canals and over 400 footbridges are definitely worth visiting and spending time exploring. As a university student, I lived in Florence for about a year and a half and I don’t think I could tire of spending time in Dante’s hometown.
When I am building an itinerary for a trip to Italy for my students, I try to find a good balance between what travelers expect to see and places they would never have even known about. I think this is a great way to really showcase all that Italy has to offer. Oftentimes, participants on my tours will tell me their favorite part of the tour was one of these little side-steps that we took. And when there’s a great story behind a town or site, even better!
If you’re visiting both Rome and Florence, I highly recommend taking the time to stop at the Sacro Bosco or Parco dei Mostri (The park of the Monsters) in Bomarzo. It’s a little over an hour drive north from Rome, on your way into Tuscany. You will not be disappointed and that is a promise.
The story behind this Parco dei Mostri is that, in the mid 16th century, Pier Francesco Orsini, also called Vicino Orsini, commissioned this park be built due to the immense grief that he felt when his wife, Giulia Farnese, passed away. The park was forgotten about until the 1950s and then underwent restorations and eventually opened to the public.
Visitors will find larger than life statues of monsters and creatures both real and mythical as they walk through the park. There is even a leaning “house” and a temple dedicated to Orsini’s wife. All throughout the gardens, you will also find that there are inscriptions on many of the sculptures.
This stop was such a hit with my students that when I visited Italy that summer with my family, I had to bring my own kids there. And as promised, it was the perfect stop on our way to stay in another off-the-beaten path medieval town for a week. But that’s for another post- look out for it!
