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STRUTTURE
FROM THE ETRUSCANS TO CONTEMPORARY ART
Arrival in Tarquinia and check-in at Hotel Torre del Sole***.
Dinner and overnight stay.
Breakfast at the hotel. Visit to the Necropoli di Monterozzi.
The city of Tarquinia (Tarquinii in Latin and Tarch(u)na in Etruscan, from the name of the mythical Tarconte) was one of the oldest and most important settlements of the Etruscan dodecapolis. In close relationship with Rome from a very early period, it gave that city the dynasty of the Etruscan kings (Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus), who played a primary role in the history of the Latin city. The Monterozzi hill, about 6 km long, is home to the main city necropolis; it runs parallel to the Tyrrhenian coast, between the sea and the Civita height where the Etruscan city stood. Tombs cover almost the entire hill; more than six thousand are known, mostly rock-cut chambers topped by tumuli. It is these, now barely visible on the ground because levelled by farming (though only a century ago more than 600 were counted), that gave the hill its popular name. In the necropolis area currently open to the public you can admire some of the most famous painted hypogea, such as the Tombs of the Lionesses, the Leopards, and Hunting and Fishing.
Free time for a second breakfast.
Then transfer to Bomarzo to visit the Park of the Monsters.
Prince Pier Francesco Orsini, known as Vicino, wanted it “only to vent his heart”. It was designed by the great architect Pirro Ligorio, who after Michelangelo’s death was called to work on St Peter’s. Without Orsini or Ligorio imagining it, a masterpiece was created that has endured, and popular imagination renamed it the PARK OF MONSTERS. The sculptures carved in the large stone blocks rooted there seem to rise from the ground like a wonder. It all dates to the 16th century (1552), when an ideal of life between princely and courtly worlds was developing. This wood inspired many artists of the time, such as Annibal Caro, Bitussi and Cardinal Modruzzo; to express their wonder they had inscriptions and verses carved on site. After Vicino Orsini’s death no one cared for this mannerist jewel; after centuries of neglect it was saved from oblivion and restored for scholars, writers, artists and tourists from around the world who come to admire this open-air museum.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner and overnight stay.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for Capalbio to visit the Tarot Garden. A fantastical realm dominated by the artistic and sculptural representation of the 22 major arcana of the tarot, characterised in the loro monumentalità (da 12 a 15 metri), da una materia cromatica sgargiante costituita da un rivestimento a mosaico e da un puzzle realizzato con materiali diversi: specchi, ceramiche, murrine, vetri colorati, poliestere, tutti elementi che intrecciano un giocoso dialogo con la folta vegetazione che li accoglie.
The creator of this park-museum is Niki de Saint Phalle, who in 1974 decided to give visual form to sensations she had experienced in dreams in the 1960s, stemming from the gift of a deck of cards and research into their esoteric and essential philosophical meaning. The site is a former quarry reclaimed by vegetation that still keeps its amphitheatre shape; Saint Phalle used the slopes to place works around the centre of the former quarry. The sculptures, like fantastical walkable, habitable buildings, create a self-contained urban space threaded with paths where visitors move freely.
Next, transfer to Pescia Fiorentina to visit the La Ferriera garden.
A precious, personal garden by Giuppi Pietromarchi. Set around an 18th-century villa, the garden opens with a beautiful, well-kept lawn shaded by a regular pine grove dating from pinus pinea around 1920. An almost solemn sense of space and inviting coolness. Around the house, pergolas and intimate spaces rich in special plants and essences reflect deep botanical knowledge and exquisite taste.
Second breakfast included in the garden.
At the end, departure and end of services.
