The Park of the Monsters, or "Parco dei Mostri," in the Garden of Bomarzo was not meant to be pretty. Commissioned in 1552 by Prince Pier Francesco Orsini, it was an expression of grief designed to shock.
The Prince, also known as Vicino, had just been through a brutal war, had his friend killed, been held for ransom for years, and come home only to have his beloved wife die. Racked with grief, the Prince wanted to create a shocking "Villa of Wonders" and hired architect Pirro Ligorio to help him do so. Ligorio was a widely respected architect and artist and had previously completed the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Rome after the death of Michelangelo, as well as the Villa d'Este in Tivoli. This was to be an unusual, but interesting job for him.
The park is filed with bizarre and fascinating sculptures for which only the accompanying inscriptions provide any explanation. Among the pieces are a war elephant, a monstrous fish-head, a giant tearing another giant in half, and a house built on a tilt to disorient the viewer. Perhaps the most frightening piece in the garden is an enormous head, mouth opened wide in a scream. The accompanying inscription reads "all reason departs."
Built during the Italian Renaissance, the garden layout bore little resemblance to the symmetry of other Renaissance gardens, and the art was made in a rough "Mannerist" style, a sort of 16th-century version of Surrealism. It makes sense, then, that the Surrealists loved it.
Salvador Dalí visited the park and loved it. He was so inspired, he shot a short film there, and the sculptures inspired his 1946 painting The Temptation of Saint Anthony. Jean Cocteau was also a fan of the park. Other artists followed, and a novel, libretto, and opera have all been based on the park.
While there is no way of truly knowing how the Prince felt about the park, the final addition indicates that perhaps he was getting over his melancholy. Built 20 years after the park was begun, it is not a monster but a temple, built to honor his second wife.
When you visit the park, be sure to enter the giant screaming mouth (known as "the mouth of hell"), inside which, on the tongue, stands a picnic table and enough seating for a small group to have lunch.
You’ll Also Want to Be Sure to Read: American Airlines Flagship Lounge, New York JFK American Airlines First Class, New York JFK – Buenos Aires Review: Park Hyatt Buenos Aires I had a chance to try some of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires on my recent visit, at least as judged by my own […]
The post 60 Hours in Buenos Aires: Eating Around the City, Four Notable Meals to Consider appeared first on View from the Wing.
Frequent Traveler University, December 5-7, Hyatt Regency Crystal City (near Washington’s National Airport) All you need to do is read this post..! This week I ran a giveaway of free tickets to Frequent Traveler University paired with hotel nights for the event. All you had to do was leave a comment to enter. The event […]
The post How to Find Out If You’ve Won 2 Free Hotel Nights! appeared first on View from the Wing.
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Ready to look at some countryside breaks instead of city breaks? Amanda Kendle reveals 8 reasons why you might enjoy them more.
The post 8 Reasons to Pick a Nature Break Over a City Break appeared first on Vagabondish.
Fifth freedom flights have always interested me, and I’ve made a point to fly as many of these flights as possible over the past several years.
Some have been interesting, like flying New York to Frankfurt on Singapore Airlines with the “First Lady” of Zimbabwe. Others have been terrifying… you may recall my experience on Royal Jordanian from Bangkok to Hong Kong.
A "fifth freedom" flight is one where an airline from one country has the right to fly between two different countries. An example of this is India’s Jet Airways, which operates fifth freedom flights between Toronto and Brussels.
These aren’t to be confused with “second freedom” flights, which allow an airline the right to stop for maintenance or fuel without disembarking passengers or cargo.
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News and notes from around the interweb: Bone up on your Spirit Airlines knowlewdge: They charge a ‘passenger usage fee’ for booking online which is funny, since they supposedly axed their ‘web convenience fee’ back in 2008. Sneaky! Your rental car costs more: Avis Budget Achieves First Large Commercial Pricing Gains Since 2009 Not travel: […]
The post Amelia Earhart’s Plane Possibly Found, Virgin Hires Pilots With No Experience, and the Newest/Coolest Plane on the Market! appeared first on View from the Wing.
On Tuesday I wrote about the incredible business class fares being offered between the west coast and Europe. SkyTeam was publishing fares of $1,500+ out of Portland and San Francisco, and you could fly on Air France, Alitalia, Delta, or KLM.
The fare died that same day, though some business class fares are back again... and they're even better!
SkyTeam is publishing ~$1,400(!!!!) business class fares between Los Angeles and Madrid through the end of the schedule.
I have never in my life seen such a cheap non-mistake fare between the west coast and Europe. Never.
The post AMAZING DEAL: $1,400 Business Class To Europe Next Summer appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
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The Murphy’s Law of travel gear is that, if you travel long enough, you’ll ruin your stuff eventually. Drops, spills, mud, dirt … you name it, it’s bound to happen. And it’s especially painful when that “something” is, say, your new table PC or iPad Air. Griffin’s new Survivor All-Terrain case promises to protect against […]
The post Griffin Survivor All-Terrain iPad Air Case Protects Against the Rigors of Travel appeared first on Vagabondish.
Back in May, SAS announced the new business class product they'd install throughout their longhaul fleet starting in 2015.
Not only will they install it on their existing A330/A340 aircraft, but they'll also install it on the four A330s they'll be taking delivery of over the next two years, as well as the A350s they'll begin taking delivery of in 2018.
At the time the announcement was made, SAS said that the first plane with the new business class should be in service in early 2015, and that the reconfigurations should be completed within 12 months.
Anyway, up until recently we didn't have an exact timeline of when the new product would be flying, though Henning at BonusFeber did some digging, and it appears as if SAS has updated the seatmaps with the new product as of early next year.
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Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program should be interesting to U.S. frequent flyers for several reasons. They offer one-way awards, which Delta won’t have until next year. They are an American Express Membership Rewards and a Citi Thank You points transfer partner. They have access to award space that Delta won’t let you have. They […]
The post Discounted Awards to Tahiti, and Half Off Business Class to Europe! appeared first on View from the Wing.
Back in the day, redeeming American AAdvantage miles to the Middle East was really tough. The only airline partner that American had in the Middle East was Royal Jordanian, which in terms of quality certainly isn't in the same league as the "big three" Gulf carriers (Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar).
Over the past few years American miles have gone from being among the least valuable for travel to the Middle East, to being among the most valuable:
-- In 2011, American started a partnership with Etihad Airways, whereby American flyers could redeem miles on them
-- In 2013, Qatar Airways joined the oneworld alliance, meaning AAdvantage members could redeem miles on them
That means you can now redeem American miles for travel on two of the "big three" Gulf carriers.
The post Royal Jordanian 787 Flights To The US appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Danvers State Hospital for the Criminally Insane opened in 1878 to serve some 600 mental patients under its imposing gothic spires. While it was built with a surprisingly caring and modern attitude toward the mentally ill, by the 1930s the site was crowded, falling into disrepair, and was using shock therapies and lobotomies on a regular basis. The addition of criminals, alcoholics, and the mentally retarded to the overcrowded hospital made it very difficult for the hospital to help cure any of its mental patients. The hospital was shut down in 1992.
The building, with its gothic style and series of underground tunnels, inspired H. P. Lovecraft's Arkham Sanitarium, in turn inspiring Batman's Arkham Asylum. In 2001, Brad Anderson chose the abandoned Danvers State Hospital as the primary location for his terrifying film, Session 9.
Besides the horror of H.P. Lovecraft there is yet another more modern horror story here. As of 2007 the beautiful, if decaying, building was mostly torn down and turned into bright and shiny condominiums. "Avalon Communities" is complete with swimming pool and barely a reference (there is a small plaque on the grounds) to the site's fascinating past. While, thankfully, some of the facade remains the rest of the beautiful building has been replaced with chintzy condos, elliptical machines and Ikea furniture. It would scare even H.P. Lovecraft.
However, there is one piece of the former insane asylum that still exists: its cemetery. This is where the previous residents of Danvers were laid to rest, or as one visitor put it the "cemetery of the dead insane." At least there is a little bit of Danvers left where Lovecraft could still feel at home.
