Statue of Ceres, Garden of Bomarzo, Bomarzo, Lazio, Italy

Statue of Ceres, patron goddess of Rome and of agriculture, reclining on the earth and balancing a vase of flowers on her head, with a sculptural group of mermaids and children at her back, in the Garden of Bomarzo, also known as the Sacro Bosco or Sacred Grove, or the Parco dei Mostri or Park of the Monsters, a monumental Mannerist park complex, c. 1550, made by Pier Francesco Orsini, or Vicino, 1523-1585, Duke of Orsini, designed by Pirro Ligorio, 1512-83, with sculptures by Simone Moschino, 1533-1610, in Bomarzo, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy. The gardens are in a wood at the bottom of a valley beneath the Castle of Orsini, with many large sculptures, small buildings and inscribed poems. The layout of the garden is chaotic, in contrast with formal Renaissance gardens, and it has a surrealistic air. The garden was restored in the 1970s and is now a major tourist attraction. Picture by Manuel Cohen

Picture No

13435711

Media ID

45147537

Size

4724px x 7087px (10.3MB)

Credit

Manuel Cohen / Mary Evans

Source

Photograph by Manuel Cohen