Faces On Friday - Bomarzo Monster Park - Italy

Whilst sorting through some old photos this morning I came across this one taken by my late husband ten years ago of myself and my nephew Scott at Bomarzo. A fun choice I felt for my Faces On Friday feature!

The town of Bomarzo is near Viterbo near where I used to live in Italy and its main attraction is a garden, referred to locally as the 'Bosco dei Mostri' or 'Park of Monsters'. It is named such after the larger than life sculptures dotted around the garden.

The garden was created by Pier Francesco Orsini, called Vicino (1528–1588), who was a keen patron of the arts.  After the death of his wife, Giulia Farnese, he created the gardens in her memory. The design has been attributed to Pirro Ligorio, a well known architect and antiquarian of the time.

The park of Bomarzo was intended not to please, but to astonish and that it certainly does!

With thanks to the following sites, where you can find out more about this fascinating park.

Bosco dei Mostri - Website       Bomarzo - Wikipedia

Faces on Friday - Set in Stone - Marta - Italy

My photos for my theme ' Faces on Friday' are perhaps not quite what you expected me to post! However as I have always been intrigued by these 'Faces Set in Stone' that are mounted on the railings next to the Fishermens Beach in Marta I thought it would be fun to share them with you here.

Nobody I have spoken to in Marta knows anything about them. If anyone from there, or anywhere else in the world, knows anything about these particular face sculptures please do let me know.

Please note this post originally appeared on LindyLouMac's World in Photos but I am in the process of moving the themed posts to Travel Tales as I plan to change direction on the photography blog.

World at Work 3 - Fishermen - Marta - Italy

World at Work this week features some of the Fishermen from Marta, Italy where the local economy still depends very much on fishing. These photos were taken during my visit last summer and were originally shared via my photography blog. If you are interested in learning more about this beautiful area, posts can be found on the blog I used to write when I lived in Italy.
News From Italy

47th Chestnut Festival - Soriano nel Cimino - Viterbo - Italy - October 2014

Whilst I was in Italy recently I wanted to attend a Sagra delle Castagne, a Chestnut Festival. It was the right time of the year and there is a special taste to freshly roasted chestnuts, cooked in the open air. I was therefore delighted that after lunching with friends in the area, that we were able to attend the 47th Chestnut Festival in Soriano nel Cimino in the late afternoon and evening. It is a very popular event and as you will see from my photos the crowds were enormous. Fortunately my friend knew that parking would be a problem so we caught a courtesy bus that was running people up and down to the centro storico, perfect solution. There was a lot more happening than just the roasting of chestnuts with enactments of  historical events taking place. If you want to know more about the event do visit the Official Website.

YouTube Courtesy of M2videoproduzioni 
Flag bearers and musicians of the Noble Contrada Trinity - Exhibition on the occasion of the 47th Chestnut Festival Soriano nel Cimino (VT) - October 4, 2014.

1.                         Address: Piazza Umberto I, 8, 01038 Soriano Nel Cimino Viterbo, Italy

                           Phone:+39 0761 746001

With thanks to the following sites for the background information included in my post. The links will take you directly to the official websites if you are interested in learning more about this event.

YouTube   Sagra delle Castagne    Facebook Page

All photos are my own taken in October 2014 unless otherwise mentioned.

More photos can be found on Flickr in My Album entitled  Travel Tales - Chestnut Festival - Italy - October 2014

Corpus Christi Celebrations - Marta - Italy

Marta may only be a small participant when it comes to Corpus Christi Celebrations, for me that makes it even more poignant that the locals rally around to work together and decorate the road outside their own neighbourhoods in preparation for the Annual Corpus Christi Procession. This year it took place on Sunday June 22nd, it is an event which is celebrated all over Italy with Infiorate/flower displays on the streets made with petals, from fresh flowers where possible but augmented with paper and coloured wood chippings.  Whilst Marta’s celebration of the event may not be one of the larger events that take place in Italy, it is still something that many people in our little town are proud to take part in.

I am not a Catholic so am unable to comment on the significance of the event but I am able to share my photos with you, which I hope will tell the story of how seriously even a small village takes this event. 

On Sunday morning just a few hours before the procession was due to begin, the area was suddenly a hive of activity, as everyone prepared their displays.

                          An altar was set up ready for the service.

                                             The Procession

 I previously wrote about this event on my blog News From Italy back in 2011.

1. The Feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ), also known as Corpus Domini, is a Latin Rite liturgical solemnity celebrating the tradition and belief in the body and blood of Jesus Christ and his Real Presence in the Eucharist.  Wikipedia