Dr Thalia Allington-Wood (Warburg Institute)
In the second half of the sixteenth century, Pier Francesco (Vicino) Orsini commissioned the Sacro Bosco in the valley below his residence at Bomarzo. An idiosyncratic sculptural “garden” in which giant marvels were carved out of local volcanic rock, the Sacro Bosco was a space that inventively and critically engaged with the region’s Etruscan past. This paper explores how the site presents a playful antiquarianism through its statues and mock-ruins when placed in relation to the wealth of genuine archaeological remains found within Orsini owned territory and shifting ideas concerning history writing, forgery and authenticity in cinquecento Italy.
Date:
Thursday, 20 October, 2022 - 12:30 to 13:30
Event location:
Graham Storey Room, Trinity Hall College