Attractions and Places To See around Bomarzo - Top 20

On the road to Grotte Santo Stefano there is a sacred Moai statue that originates from Easter Islands. The statue is about 10 m high and was made in the early 1990s. For this purpose, 11 members of the Maori Atan family came over from Easter Islands. They were followed for 4 weeks in a television programme on the RAI. The statue is the only one in the world that is located outside Easter Islands. The statue was made from a single piece of peperino stone. From this panoramic point you have a beautiful view of the old town of Vitorchiano, which is built entirely on a rock. In addition, your wish can come true if you touch the navel of the Moai with your hands…

It is a large boulder of shaped and carved peperino stone, located in a forest between Bomarzo and Chia; It was rediscovered in 2001 by the Archeotuscia association and the archaeological company Pro-Ferento. The structure has 26 steps carved into the volcanic rock, with a height of 8 meters in the upstream part and 16 meters in the downstream part. It is believed to have been an Etruscan rock altar, probably dating back to the 6th-7th century BC, although some hypotheses suggest even older origins.

"The statue was created in 1990 by eleven members of the Atan family, originally from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The project was born during the RAI television program “Alla ricerca dell’arca” by journalist Mino d’Amato, with the aim of promoting the restoration of the Moai on Easter Island. Vitorchiano was chosen as the ideal location for the construction thanks to the presence of peperino, a volcanic stone similar to that used for the original Moai. The Atan craftsmen used the same traditional techniques, working with axes and stones to sculpt the monument.".

Magical place to visit in all seasons

Past the old monastery you will arrive at the old borgo. The elevated old village has been depopulated since the 19th century and has become a real ruin due to erosion and earthquakes. In 1951 it was completely abandoned. Only the old market square and the castle are accessible, the old houses are completely dilapidated and overgrown with plants over the years. The Orsini castle at the entrance of Celleno antico is the most beautiful building in the borgo. It has a large watchtower and the castle is surrounded by a deep moat. It was recently restored and inhabited by the artist Enrico Castellani. This artist was internationally known (he also studied in Brussels) and died on 1 December 2017. On the old market square you can see a beautiful rectangular bell tower, in 3 layers and made of tuff. Only the walls of the old church San Carlo (17th century), left of the castle, remain. Close to the market square is the church of San Donato from the year 1000 in Romanesque style, with a very beautiful portal in basalt stone.

Recent archaeological discoveries have confirmed the Etruscan origins (4th-3rd centuries BC) of Celleno Vecchio, a settlement that enjoyed a great position, i.e. the ancient communication route between Orvieto, Bagnoregio and Ferento. Ancient sources provide evidence that this medieval settlement is one of the fortified villages built by the Counts of Bagnoregio between the 10th and 11th centuries. At that time, the village must have consisted of a number of dwellings at the end of the tuff, protected by cliffs on three sides, surrounded by walls and a small fortress, which is now the Orsini Castle, to protect the only access route. At the end of the 12th century, after the destruction of Ferento, the municipality of Viterbo began a rapid expansion in the Tiber Valley, also acquiring Celleno, which in 1237 was one of the castles of the Viterbo area governed by a Podest (high official) appointed by the local government. At the end of the 14th century, the city center fell into the hands of the Gatti family, one of the most powerful families in Viterbo. During this period, the medieval fortress was completely renovated and converted into a fortified stately home that can still be seen today. The Gatti family ruled Celleno until the last heir, Giovanni Gatti, who was killed on the orders of Pope Alexander VI (Borgia) for refusing to return the castle. At the beginning of the 16th century, the municipality fell into the hands of the Orsini family. Interestingly, the castle still bears the name of this family. Only towards the end of the 16th century was the church able to incorporate Celleno into its possessions until the unification of Italy. In modern times, Celleno Vecchio was often affected by earthquakes and landslides, until it was finally abandoned in the 1930s. Today it is a small, charming and evocative ghost village, characterized by ruins and vegetation, with beautiful views of the surrounding landscape.

The Sacro Bosco known as Monster Park for the grotesque sculptures present is the oldest sculpture park in the modern world. Near Orsini, lord of Bomarzo, he built it starting from the middle of the 16th century. Overcoming the dominant idea of the Italian Renaissance garden, Vicino creates a work that is not easy to decipher, fitting into the new naturalistic architectural vision of the end of the Renaissance. Immersed in lush nature, the park takes the form of a hermeneutical labyrinth populated by symbolic sculptures that escape classical composure giving way to a Mannerist taste for the bizarre and the occult. A visit to the park is, however, a particularly interesting experience as it combines art, magic and literature whose references are not always decipherable.

Given its shape, it could recall a religious altar, but it is really an ancient and mysterious pyramid discovered only in 1911.