Bomarzo: A Study in Personal Imagery

Lynette M. F. Bosch

Garden History, Vol. 10, No. 2. (Autumn, 1982), pp. 97-107.

Stable URL:

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0307-1243%28198223%2910%3A2%3C97%3ABASIPI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3

Garden History is currently published by The Garden History Society.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtainedprior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content inthe JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://www.jstor.org/journals/ghs.html.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission.

The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academicjournals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers,and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community takeadvantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

http://www.jstor.orgMon Mar 17 13:45:55 2008

LYNETTE M . F. BOSCH

BOMARZO: A STUDY IN

PERSONAL IMAGERY

Cedano Memphi et ogni altra meraviglia Ch'ebbe gia il mondo in pregio Sacro Bosco Che sol se stesso e null'altro somiglial

THE STONE MONSTERS of Bomarzo's sacro bosco represent a uniquely grotesque assemblage of mythological, literary and heraldic sources that have, for generations, baffled and enthralled the visitors of Vicino Orsini's remarkable sixteenth-century park. This garden extends beyond the grounds immediately surrounding the Castello Orsini, a structure that stands at the periphery of Bomarzo, a quiet town located some sixty miles north of Rome. The construction of the Orsini complex began in the fifteenth-century under the direction of Gian Corrado Orsini; and was continued by his son, Vicino, who acquired Bomarzo in 1 5 4 2 . ~The development of the sacro bosco's singular images obsessed the latter Orsini throughout his mature years.

Bomarzo's statues are a curious juxtaposition of bizarre beasts incongruously intermingled with more traditional Renaissance garden figures. As a sacro bosco the garden belongs to a literary tradition of enchanted forests that can be traced from Ovid and Virgil to Ariosto and T a ~ s o . ~ Seen against a broader background, Bomarzo's grotteschi can be considered a manifestation of sixteenth-century M a n n e r i ~ m . ~ Consid-eration of the literary background of most maniera programmes and the literary origin of the sacro bosco has led scholars to seek an explanation for Bomarzo's figures in contemporary literature.

Mario Calvesi was a pioneer in the attempt to discern the garden's programme in sixteenth-century epics.6 Calvesi suggested Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata as the source for Bomarzo's Gigante, River God, Sleeping Nymph, and Abundance. In keeping with this approach to the garden's imagery, Eugenio Battisti indicated Franceso Colonna's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili as the origin for the garden's Tempio, Elefante, Drago, Fortuna, Sirena and for the numerous inscriptions that appear on several statue^.^ Josephine von Hennenberg has provided two successive, alternative interpretations for the garden's imager^.^ Her first suggestion introduced the idea that the garden's symbolism originated with classical mythology. She therefore equated the Tempio with Fame and envisioned the transit through the garden as an ascent to glory. Her second

Trenton State Collegz, Hillside Lakes, N mJersey

98 BOMARZO: A STUDY IN PERSONAL IMAGERY

Figure I. Bomano, Tenrpiem Photo: Zsrituto Centrale, Rome

effort expands on one of Battisti's suggestions and links the garden's Drago, Gigam, Elepham, and Whale to the festivities presented by Cardinal Madruzzo during the enmafa of Philip 11 at Binche (1549).~ No interpretation has yet provided a single source for the garden's images.

Alternative studies of Bomarzo's statues have promoted the possibility of regarding the garden as a funerary park commemorating Giulia Farnese, Vicino's deceased wife. lo

Another approach to the garden's images suggests that Vicino's practical and intellectual experiences were integrated within the garden's predominant exposition as a memento mon'. This autobiographical aspect, discernible in the symbolic associations of its figures, has been pursued to provide the following interpretations for Bomano's Elefante, Casa Pendente, and Gigante. (Figures I and 2.)

The suggestions that Bomarzo's figures are autobiographical is strengthened by analogies that can be drawn between Vicino's personal history and the symbolism of his garden's statues. The creator of Bomarzo's fantastic park was a man of almost legendary accomplishments; a distinguished soldier, a sensitive poet and a devoted husband.ll Vicino's noteworthy military career began in 1546 when Pope Paul 111 assigned him to the regiment commanded by Otaviano and Alessandro Farnese, which formed part of the offensive against the Protestant Princes of the Smalkaldic League. As part of this regiment Vicino participated in the Battle of Hesdin, where his kinsman Orazio Farnese

LYNETTE M. F. BOSCH

I00 BOMARZO: A STUDY IN PERSONAL IMAGERY

Figure 3. Bomano, Elefante Figure 4. Giovanni Guerra, drawing Photo: Istituto Cenwak, Rome after Bomarzo's Elefante

P h : Albnrkra, Vicrma

was killed and where he was taken prisoner (along with Torquato Conti) by Philibert of Savoy's troops. l2 The two men's imprisonment was temporary and Torquato Conti was released by 1553'~ suggesting Vicino's contemporaneous release since in September of 1556 he participated in the fighting at Tivoli.14

Vicino fought continuously after his release until three years later when the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrdsis (1559) ended hostilities enabling him to return home. Earlier sporadic visits by Vicino to Bomarzo are not precluded by this chronology; but his imprisonment (I 553) combined with his involvement at Tivoli did not allow for a lengthy stay at any time other than between 1546 (the year he was assigned to the Farnese regiment) and his departure (15523)~~ for the battles prior to his imprisonment. While Vicino was away, Giulia remained at Bomano until her premature death.

Giulia's death remains undocumented but she was still living during Vicino's internment as is recorded in Betussi's Imugini, which was published in 1556. l6 She is not mentioned as living in a letter from Annibale Caro to Vicino, dated 20 October 1564, where reference is made to 'teatri e mausolei' at Bomano.17 The mention of muusoki complements Sansovino's assertion that Vicino dedicated a mortuary chapel for Giulia at Bomarzo, 'edificato da'lui dai fondamenti'. This chapel cannot be firmly established as being the Tmpio now standing on Bomarzo's highest level; but its funerary function extends, by association, to the garden's structure. Little more is known about the garden's inspiration beyond Sansovino's and Caro's words and although passing mention of Vicino's preoccupation with Bomano's modifications are made in letters he exchanged with Giovanni Drouet, these individual references do not describe a programme. ls A comprehensive programme remains undiscovered;l9 but each attempt to elucidate one has clarified the funerary, literary and heraldic origins of individual

LYNETTE M. F. BOSCH I01

statues. The garden's construction begun by 1552 (the date on one of the two obelisks that now stand at the entrance) continued throughout Vicino's life and ended in the 1580s with his Hence, the initial assertion, made here, that this expansive project records events in Vicino's life other than his sorrow over Giulia's death is plausible, sincethe originalintensityof his feelingscouldnot have lastedfor thirty years. (Figures3,4, and 5.)

Vicino's autobiographicalreferences are discernible in Bomarzo's Ekfante. Tradi-tionally, the elephant's iconography has been associated with fortune, war, and death providing suitable links to Vicino's experience^.^^ The fortunes of war were ultimately favourableto Vicino but the events attendinghis presence at Hesdin were inauspicious and can be shown to correspond with theEkfante's characterization. Thecorpseheld by the statue's trunk strongly suggestsOrazio Farnese's death, while the tower on its back

E M A N V E L D V C A DI S A V O I A .

E L L ' I A f T R E S J D ' J S T O R R I : R J G L I O -ne ,ouefi 2. ragionato d i f f c famc~~tedc\lanatura, & dellequalita de!! Elcfa:~te,fiZdetto,fratantea!-t rc dcgne di Comma lodeefler'ona quella,chc acer mano accader d i uederne rpeffo con erperic!lz;l, cio6,che fe egli s'abbattc in alcuna mancira,ir fcliic ra d tpecore , non iolamet~tenon I oflendc in rlilrn niodo, niaancora con l a f ~ ~ atromba,clle cor:lmu-Ilenicntc chian~anolafizamano,egli 1- uad~fcof iz

c ~ b 3 : :un3 h dai! alrra par teprr no!) otfcnderle caminando .Nc!laqtial "tman~rna qcraiiti fi uede chiaramente d i c r fo~ldarrt1 in:ctl:io,..c (ii Figure5.91re!a ltrifrcf~dei prcknte 1)nca d i Sauoia, laq~la!c,cntl:r1:loft-n 11 2 . r ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ f P h j ] i b ~ ~ t ~ fSavoy.c"'l,~vnI!cfante, chc coll !a dct13fils troflt!~a,bnlnr~oJi~lahc.:n:o ,..,

"c pecorc,per non oCcndcrlc,d~cc~i~!oil Motto. From Ruscelli,Le irnprese . . ., f ? i F E < T J . , S i ' ,yl E . $ 7 ' ! ' , P.187

Uondeuo;iii queffoSrart Signore gcncroC;n~e:~:e infcrirc. clri. 1 c'.i ~ ~ ~ : p ~ ~ ~ m U n i - . & L i b r m y ,A A I Princeton,NewJeng,

I 0 2 BOMARZO: A STUDY IN PERSONAL IMAGERY

Figure 6. Bomarzo, Casa Pendente Figure 7. Impesa of Carlo Ruino Antonii Phow: Zstiruto Centrole, Rome From Bocchi, Symbolicarum . . . ,

p. CCCXXXII P b w : Princeton Uniwn@ Libraty,

Princeton, New Jersty

evokes Vicino's imprisonment. An additional indication of the Ekfante's connection to Hesdin is that of the animal's identification with Philibert of Savoy through its appearance on one of his irnpre~e.~~ This association links the hostile animal to Vicino's adversary at Hesdin. A hint of the figure's significance is provided by a drawing executed by Giovanni Guerra that depicts the decoration of the statue with Orsini roses.23 (Figure 6.)

The Ekfante's composite associations are devoid of reference to Giulia but allusions to her do exist in the Casa Pendente. The Casa is the only structure at Bomarzo that can be associated with a contemporary individual through its inscription (CHRIST MADRUTTO PRINCIP TRIDENTINO DICATUM). This dedication, a confirmation of the friendship that existed between Vicino and Cardinal Madruzzo, provides a clue for its interpretative source.24 Both men shared an interest in esoterica that stimulated Vicino's acquisition of exotic books25 and Madruzzo's repeated requests to dinner-party guests for the invention of the new irnpre~e.~~ They also shared an interest in obscure garden imagery. Soriano, Madruzzo's garden is as abstruse as Bomarzo. The creation of the Casa Pendente originated in the combination of their varied intellectual pursuits. Madruzzo's and Vicino's acquaintances included two of the prominent editors of sixteenth-century

LYNETTE M. F. BOSCH 103

emblem books: Girolamo Ruscelli (Le imprese illustri con ispositioni et discorsi del S. Ieronimo Ruscelli, Venice, 1556) and Ludovico Domenichi (L'imprese d'arme et d'amore diahgo di M. Ludovico Domenichi, Venice, 1562). The ideograms found in these works could be supplemented by those found in Andrea Alciati's Emblematica, Vincenzo Cartari's Imagini degli dei degli antichi, Achillis Bocchi's Symbolicarum QuestionumLibri Quinque, and Francesco Colonna's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, from which some of Bomarzo's figures are derived.27Hence, part of Bomarzo's iconography originated in contemporary imprese. (Figures 7 and 8.)

Images of tower-houses that suggest their employment in the configuration of the Casa Pendente do appear in the cited texts. Carlo Ruino Antonii's impresa, published in Bocchi, features a leaning house. The impresa was composed to commemoratehis wife's virtuous housekeeping while he performed his military dutie~.~8Another house impresa (not leaning but closerto home) appearsin Ruscelli.29 This impresawas createdin I554as

I 7 ' i . C . S I C V R . , f . I ! E ? * j T E C O J I P R E Y -

la b1aelI:i di I?lo,& fina:r~~enteperDiofteRo. On1 ,, rlc. y: I;:. . . >...'>t~r!tcuratn t c I)iie,& glorificabunt y o AI tvtuil. ,, I:+uridc Ira:i: t i i in,nentc\,<;~!sre noircrilt,& inreqna,quzT.i 0nf E 7.C ,, cuunl non itinocnrtinr. I-rqttelto i.retil~tovnde'irandilsimi mifierij, che fiaSbianoncl!n !in[:! I:thia, potc.ndoTi di quafi tutti gli altri rcnird qualchc niaggior cono!cetiza,clie di qrlcff adel NomediDio. Ondr i d e t t o d c ~ n a n i c t ~ t einccl,i!>i!c,cio<che lion fi rloTi3.ni.<!ire, nSprontlnriare 3n corcon lin,nu~,conie-116fi p ~ ~ otapir con ia m e n r e . ~ tlddio ~ e l r oi b ~ o i k , Figure8. chc gli ~I1111anc!ar1a11 {I!(\ notilc, r i ipok , J 0 s0 x o C OLP' I , C H E s0 . ~ 0 .~ ' ti. pi,^ cIn.r.i.i'cri~i:?IIC!qr ini i f icr~o,~h 'Ctocca tnp~~r~ora , c io i , Impresa of BertoldoFarnese. rh r qncito conoicc~c.is.T . t ; t c ~ ~11 vcro nni.,e di Dio,!brcl~hcconie rn con1 FromRuscelli,Leimprese . . nrcr~~lcrc.i,catrirc i n re r~ : ! i c~~ tc1'in?inir~~~cir~.cra11de7/~,~l!~11?3,6v 3 - b. 82 , 1 s - -

1<1r<11I ) I O l ! ~ i ~ cI I ~ I If n !o i!;oi si;~>r:;!!i,,112 a~ic&aa ! ! ~c r c ~ ~ t ~ r c21ige1i-i11c.K i i 'oc;rt~c ~:r-poisib~lc,I ~;t!.i'i,ionict.:n dii'c il I'ctrtrca,

Photo:Princeton Uni- Library,Pri?lcem,NewJmy

I04 BOMARZO: A STUDY I N PERSONAL IMAGERY

a celebration of the wife of Bertoldo Farnese who was remarkable for her faithful behaviour during her husband's temporary imprisonment. Bertoldo's wife was coincidentally named Giulia. Bomarzo's Casa Pendente can be considered an amalgama- tion of both images and, therefore, interpreted as a commemoration of Vicino's imprisonment (remarkable for its comfortable, if tight, security)30 and Giulia's exemplary behaviour throughout its duration. The dedication to Madruzzo suggests his authorship and Vicino's gratitude.

Additional support for the Casa Pendente's autobiographical interpretation can be found in the iconography of the Leaning House. In Alanus de Insulis's Anticlaudianus, a Leaning House is described as being the unstable house of F ~ r t u n a . ~ ~ As such, it is a symbol that recurred in Medieval and Renaissance Tarot cards where it signified an imminent change in a person's fortune. 32 The continuation of this traditional association is owed to Petrarch and P ~ n t a n o , ~ ~ and its introduction to Vicino's intellectual circle is owed to Ludovico Ariosto who identified Fortuna with death. 3 T h u s , the Casa Pendente unites Bomarzo's major themes in one visual metaphor that alludes to Giulia's virtuet Vicino's fortune, and the inevitability of death.

As the years passed and his memories of Giulia receded, Vicino chronicled his garden's continuing development in his correspondence with Giovanni Drouet. These letters confirm Vicino's identification with his garden and record schemes free of allusions to Giulia. Throughout the 1570s a fresh spirit of invention appeared in Vicino and he wrote to Drouet on the 22 December 1573 about his enthusiasm for his 'disegni n ~ o v i ' . ~ ~These new projects included painting the garden's statues white, red, rose, blue, faded yellow, and yellow green -colours analogous to those of the Orsini arms -red, blue, silver, and gold.36 The painting, begun in the last months of 1574 has been almost completely eroded, although traces can still be seen on various statues. Gay as the painted garden must have been, its appearance did not help Vicino to escape his morbid fascination with death since on 28 May I 580 and on 8 February I 583 he writes saying that his work has become 'azioni inspidamente', 'venuto in fastidio' and that he is plagued by 'meditatio m ~ r t i s ' . ~ ~ His death soon followed, bringing an end to the decorations initiated during the final years. (Figures 9 and 10.)

One of the last series of statues erected at Bomarzo was the Gigante that stands close to Bomarzo's now-dwindling stream. On I April 1578, Vicino writes to Drouet about his progress and refers specifically to the Giganre, '. . . et in breve spero que farre diventar 1'Orlando mezz'huomo da bene . . .'.38 That the Gigante can be identified as the Orlando can be proved with the aid of a Guerra drawing labelled, SMISURATO COLOSSO FATTO

D I G R O S S 0 S A S S 0 E T F O R M A T 0 C O M E ORLANDO FORSENATO SBRANA I N F U R O R E I L

PASTORELLO.This identification closes the long-standing debate over the sex of the figure's victim and the statue's identification. The shepherd's dismemberment (Orlando Furioso, Canto x x ~ x , vi) was enacted by Orlando, while he was temporarily insane. The insanity was caused by the jealousy he experienced at the desertion of his mistress, who eloped with a rival. The events of the Orlando Furioso find a parallel in Vicino's life. In July of 1574 Vicino's mistress, Laura, eloped with another man leaving him disconso- late.39 Laura left behind, at Bomarzo, her illegitimate daughter, Orontea (named by Vicino after the vengeful deities of the Orlando Fun'oso), and Vicino's anguish as well as his solicitude for the child are preserved in his letters to D r ~ u e t . ~ ~ It is during this period

LYNETTE M. F. BOSCH 105

Figure 9. Bomano, Orlando Photo: Istimw Centrule, Rome

SMISVR2TO COLLT~SD T.fT Ti? D l GROSSi SA5(? rT ;ukli,YC CJJLE ORLXNPP TOR5ZN9T: 5RKiNA Ti k0RL 1~ T4'TJXIL--

AZTC PAL111 h X \ L

Figure 10. Giovanni Guerra, drawing after Bomano's Orlando

Photo: Alb&, Viema

that the figure was conceived and finished as is recorded in the Drouet letter. The Orsini rose f i e d to Orlando's shield confirms Vicino's identification with the figure.

The above exposition of three of Bomano's enigmatic figures stresses the close identification between owner and his garden, providing, beyond an immediate explanation of each figure, a broader methodology that can be systematically pursued in the garden's study. The assertion that Bomano is autobiographical to some degree appears undeniable and suggests that the garden should be analyzed as a synoptic series of images that organically capture Vicino's personal development during the years he dedicated to the creation of his remarkable garden.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to thank David Coffin for all of the suggestions that he offered to me while I was engaged in the preparation of this text.

REFERENCES I . Theurillat, Les mysteres de B m r z o , Geneva, 2. The eclectic combination of all these symbolic

1973, p. 49, where the inscription is corrected from wssibilities is reflected in Bomano's decorations. tlk format given by F. Fasolb, 'L'analisi stilistica del &Iong with mythological garden figures such as the Sacm Bosco', Quaderni dell'istituto deiStoria Pegasus fountain, the sleeping Ariadne, and the 1II'Archinethrra (1955)' p. 33. River God, Bomarzo's decorations incorporate

I06 BOMARZO: A STUDY I N PERSONAL IMAGERY

adapted mottoes from impresa, lines taken from classical sources as well as moralizing maxims espousing the Golden Mean. These inscriptions, found in both garden and castle have been published and identified with the originals from which they derive by the following: A. Bruschi, 'Nuovi dati documentati sulle opere orsiniane di Bomarzo', Quaderni(1963), pp. 13-58, and by G. Zander, 'Gli elementi documentati sul Sacro Bosco', Ouaderni (1955), p. 26, n. 9. Seealso S. Lang, <~bGarzo2 ' , TheArchi tecturalRe~i~CXXI, 1957 p. 427; J. von Hennenberg, 'Bomarzo: nuovi dati e un' interpretazione', Stm'a dell'Arte I3, 1972, pp. 43-45 and L. Quartermaine, 'Vicino Orsini's Garden of Conceits', I ta l ianStudiesxxx~~, 1977, pp. 68-85. Of the above both Hennenberg and Quartermaine have stressed the garden's autobiographical nature.

3. A. Bruschi, 'L'abitato di Bomarzo e la Villa Orsiniana', Quaderni(1955)~ pp. 3-18; Zander (19551, P P 19-32, Hennenberg(1972)~ P: 43. 4. E. MacDougall, 'Ars Hortulorum: Surteenth

Century Garden Iconography', The Italian Garden, ed. David Coffin (Washington D C , 1972)~pp. 1-36.

5. For a discussion of Bomarzo within thls context seeJ. Shearman, Mannerism (1977), pp. 121, 124-26,158, and zoo. 6. M. Calvesi, 'I1 Sacro Bosco di Bomarzo', Scritti

di storia dell'arte in more di Lionello Venturi (Rome, 19561, P P 369-402. 7. E. Battisti, L'Antirinascimento (Milan, 1962)~

pp. 123-37. A concept that was suggested in passim by Bruschi (1955).

8. J. von Hemenberg, 'Bomarzo: The Extravagant Garden of Pier Francesco Orsini', Italian Quarterly X I , 1967, PP. 3-19; Hennenberg(1972), PP. 43-45.

9. Hennenberg (1972), pp. 43-45. 10. Strong funerary images at Bomarzo were noted by S. Settis, 'Contributo aBomarzo', Bollettino d'Arte, Ser. v, L I (1966), p. 17 and J. Oleson, 'A Reproduction of an Etruscan Tomb in the Parco dei Mostri at Bomarzo', ArtBulletin L V I I ,1975, pp. 410-17 as wellas Lang(1957). Thelink between Bomarzo's general funerary associations and Giulia's death is provided by F. Sansovino, Della origineet de fatti delle famiglie illustri d'ltalia (Venice, I582), p. 169'~ 'Giulia, gia maritata a Vicino Orsino, il quale amando quella prudentissima e magnanima donna, le consacro a Bomarzo un bellissimo tempio, edificato da lui da' fondamenti, nel quale havendo costituiti sacerdoti si prega Nostro Signore di continuo per I'anima sua'. It is unlikely that this tempio is the temple structure found in the garden. The word tempw was probably intended to refer to a church in which commemorative Masses were held. The Orsini church at Bomarzo was Sta. Maria della Valle, a building which had been, at the time, the recipient of considerable attention from the Orsini family. I I . F. Sansovino, Histm'a di Casa Orsina e de gli huomini illustri di Casa Orsina libri quattro (Venice,

I565),,1, p. 26, praised Vicino's military and literary activities. Adchtional confirmation of the high esteem in which Vicino was held by his friends is found in Betussi's dedication to him of his chalogue I1 Raverta (Venice, 1543) and in Bernardo Tasso's Amadigi where his literary endeavours are com~limented,see Bruschi, 1963, D. I 5 . More. , comprehensive information is provided by J . von Hennenbere. 'Bomarzo: The Extravagant Garden of Pier ~ranc&Go Orsini', Italian ~ u a r t e & X I , 1967, P. 15, n. 3. 12. For a summary of Vicino's military career see Hennenberg(1972)~pp. 44-45 and p. 44 for the argument that convincingly places Vicino's departure in I 546. 13. A letter from Annibal Caro to Violante Farnese, Conti's wife, dated 5 August 1553, expresses joy at his release, Hennenberg(1972), p. 45, n. 10.

14. Hennenberg(1972), pp. 45-46. 15. Hennenberg(1972), pp. 46-47, and 49, argues on the basisoftheinscript ionv~c~~oORSINON E L L M D L I I found ononeofthe twoobelisks, nowat Bomarzo's entrance that 1552 was the dateof Vicino's second departure. The other obelisk, bears thewords SOL PER SFOGAR IL CORE. Both inscriptions were first published by A. Bruschi, 'I1 problema storico ch Bomarzo', Palladio XII , 1963, p. 110,fig. 22. 16. The last record of a living Giulia can be found in Giuseppe Betussi, Le Imagini del Tempio della Signora Donna Giovanna d'Aragona (Florence, 1556), p. 91, 'Et inatto, et in vistamostra tanto valore ch'io non conobbi mai altra piu piena di constantia: di che n'ha dato testimonio nelle nature del suo fedele Vicino Orsino, sempre con animo costante e forte soportando i colpi d'aversa fortuna, eta quelli trovando rimedio'. 17. Annibal Caro, Lettere Familiari (Florence, 1961) 11, pp. 210-1 I . Theletter is addressed 'a1 signor Vicino Orsino' and was written from Frascati. The teatri can be identified as the structures located on the garden's first level immediately after the modern entry ramp suggesting that this part of the garden was completed by I 564. 18. Excerpts from these letters were published in Bruschi(1963), pp. 14-33. 19. The most comprehensive attempts to decipher Bomarzo's programme were made by M. Calvesi, 'I1 Sacro Bosco di Bomarzo', Scritti diStoria dell'Arte in onore di Lionello Venturi (Rome, 1961) I, pp. 369-402 and Hennenberg (1967 and 1972). 20. Vicino's deathis undocumented but the correspondence with Drouet ends in I 584 and no later record of his activities has been uncovered. 21. For the iconographical history of the elephant seeW. S. Heckscher, 'Bernini's Elephant and Obelisk', Art Bulletin 29,1947, pp. I 55-82 and M. Winer, 'Raphael malt einen Elephanten', Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorisches Institutes in Florenz x i , 1964, pp. 71-109. Quartermainein her 1977

LYNETTE M. F . BOSCH 107

article repeatedly stressed the relationship between tower images and the Orsini 'della Torre' to which Vicino belonged, and interpreted the appearance of towersat Bomarzo (on theElefante, theMask-Orb, and the Casa Pendente) as being interjections of Vicino's personal imagery. 22. G. Ruscelli, Le imprese illustri con ispositioni et discorsi del S . Ieronimo Ruscelli (Venice, I566), pp. 187-88. 23. Giovanni Guerra's drawings of Bomarzo form part of an extensive sketchbook composed of similar drawings of other Renaissance gardens such as Pratolino, Bagnaia, and the Boboli. The first published reference to the Bomarzo drawings can be found in Walter Vitzhum, 'Ammannatis Boboli-Brunnen in Einer Kopie Giovanni Guerras', AlbertinaStudien (1963) I, p. 79. The Bomarzo drawings (10 altogether) were made available to me for study by David R. Coffin. 24. Another inscription on the CasaPendente reads ANIMO QUIESCENDO FIT P R U D E N T I O R E R G O . Vicino's close friends hi^ with Madruzzo extended from 1561-62 to 1575. i a n d e r ( 1 ~ ~ 5 ) , p. 29, cautiously limited Vicino's contacts with Madruzzo to the years 1561-42 or 1571-72, yearsduringwhich Madruzzo was at Soriano. Yet, Drouet letters dated 6 July 1574 and 7 July 1574 mention Madruzzo as having been Vicino's host at Soriano and a visit by Madruzzo toBomarzo (Bruschi, 1963, p. 20). The CasaPendente's conception could have been developed during any of these visits. 25. Bruschi (1963), pp. 18-20. 26. Hennenberg (1967)~ pp. 7-8 for Madruzzo's requests. For a complete discussion of Renaissance emblem books and concise history of their publication dates, see M. Praz,A Bibliography of Emblem Books (1947). 27. See Bruschi (1955), and Battisti (1962). The derived figures are the temple, the dedicatory Obelisks, the Elephant with the tower on his back, the Dragon, the Bifurcated Mermaid and the Woman who blows a trumpet mounted on the turtle (aglyph for Festina Lenre). 28. Achillis Bocchi, Symbolicarum Questionum Libri Quinque(Bononiae, 1555)~ Symbol, C X L I I I (this impresa was first mentioned in connection with Bomarzoby Hennenberg, 1967, p. 18,n.z1). 29. Ruscelli (1566)~ pp. 83-85.

30. Vicino's imprisonment was relatively pleasant as was reported by Girolamo Dandino on the 2 August 1553 and 6 September 1553; 'il signor Torquato Conti el S. Vicino Ursino et il conte Jacopo Antonio da Fontanellato dono stati per ordine della regina condotti qua da Aversa con li sbirri et stanno reserati in una casa per6 ben tratai, et credo che saranno mandati in qualche loco pi6 comodo e di minore spesa per loro', and 'I Signori [Conti and Vicino] si trovano nel castello di Namur e sono molto be tratai, facendoli quel castellano banchetti perpetuo e sempre in compagnia di honestissime dame.', Hennenberg (1972)~ pp. 45-46. 31. See H. R. Patch, 'The Tradition of the Goddess Fortuna',Smith Collegestudies 3, no. 4,1922, p. 188. 32. E. Delcamp, Le Tarot Initiatique (Paris, 1972), P. 317-33. 33. Patch(~gzz), pp. 205-13. 34. Patch (1922), p. 223, cites the Orlando Furioso, C a n t o x x . c x x x ~ ~ ~ . 35. Bruschi(1963)~p. 34. 36. Zander (19551, p. 30, 'Arma Orsini . . .bandato d'argento e di rosso. Capo d'argento caricato d'una rosa di rosso bottonata d'oro e sostenuta da una fascia d'oro caricata d un'anquilla ondeggiante d'azzurro'. If the silver is equated with the white (practical considerations making silver too costly and difficult to colour to reproduce) then the reds can be related to the colour of the rose, the blue to the blue of the snake and the two yellows to the gold. In his letters to Drouet Vicino complains about difficulties with the chemicals for the colours and the existence of two shades of red and gold could be the result of unstable paint. 37. Bruschi(1963), p. 39 a n d z ~ 3 3 . The Drouet correspondence extended from 1570-84 and is preserved in the Archivo di Stato di Roma, Deposito Santa Croce. 38. Bruschi(1963), p. 37. 39. Bruschi (1963), p. 56, n. 49 for the history of Laura's desertion of Vicino. 40. Bruschi (1963), p. 56, n. 48, 'Orentea e un nome che ci rirnanda a1 ciclo dei poemi cavallerschi rinascimentali. Nell' Orlando Furioso, I'Ariosto ci dice che essa, "ch'origine traea dal re Minosse", era una delle "femmine omicide della citta sul golfo di Laiazzo in Soria che die lor legge esi fe lor Regina" '.

You have printed the following article:

Bomarzo: A Study in Personal ImageryLynette M. F. BoschGarden History, Vol. 10, No. 2. (Autumn, 1982), pp. 97-107.Stable URL:

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0307-1243%28198223%2910%3A2%3C97%3ABASIPI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3

This article references the following linked citations. If you are trying to access articles from anoff-campus location, you may be required to first logon via your library web site to access JSTOR. Pleasevisit your library's website or contact a librarian to learn about options for remote access to JSTOR.

References

21 Bernini's Elephant and ObeliskWilliam S. HeckscherThe Art Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 3. (Sep., 1947), pp. 155-182.Stable URL:

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-3079%28194709%2929%3A3%3C155%3ABEAO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-K

http://www.jstor.org

LINKED CITATIONS- Page 1 of 1 -

NOTE: The reference numbering from the original has been maintained in this citation list.