LIVING ROCKS AND PETRIFIED GIANTS IN VICINO ORSINI'S SACRO BOSCO

摘要

Despite over half a century of research into Pierfrancesco "Vicino" Orsinis Sacro Bosco in Bomarzo (c.1560-1584)-one of the most enigmatic designed landscapes of the sixteenth century-the fact that its figures were carved from "living" rock has received little attention. This essay focuses on the implications and meanings of this unusual sculptural practice in the context of sixteenth-century garden design. It examines sources from literature and natural history for the idea of living rock, before considering Renaissance approaches to rock carving in situ, "pietra viva" as a poetic image, and the relevance of the legends of the giants. The essay concludes with the suggestion that Orsini's choice of medium militates against the presence of a coherent or linear narrative, despite the many past attempts to find a textual source that might help to clarify the Sacro Bosco's meaning.