Bombarzo
            Lago di Corbara
            Bagnoregio
            Viterbo
            Lago di Vico

Sunday... I hopped on the bike and headed north of Rome to a town called Bomarzo.
"Bomarzo?" you ask. "Why Bomarzo?"
"A nice town," you say, "but much like other towns, isn't it?"
Well...
... the road leading to its main attraction might have been damaged...
... but the road I then had to walk had gorgeous views...
... and other interesting features to keep my camera finger happy...
...
...
... as I tested my sprained ankle on the fairly long walk...
...to Parco dei Monstri (Monster Park).
A customized game (fortunes) previewed my reason for being there.
Once reaching the main building where tickets to the park were sold...
... I still had a bit of a walk...
... to the main entrance.
This sculpture park was built in 1552 and the first thing to greet you...
... are the unusual sphinxes.
The vegetation in the park was lush. I really should have taken this picture with something of a known size in it so you could realize that the leaves are more than a foot and a half across.
My first "monsters"!
Ercole vs Caco...
... a struggle between giants.
Off to the side of the path, a small waterfall into the Fosso della Concia (tannery pit)!
Tartaruga e Orca... Turtle and Whale. Although both statues are huge, you have to look closely to see the open mouth of the whale (left) because it is so overgrown.
A better view of the turtle.
Look directly above the bright green bush to see one of the orca's teeth.
This is the Fontana Pegaso - Fountain of Pegasus.
Leading away from Pegasus, these lions or perhaps cougars or jaguars adorn the path.
There are also stone benches...
... and a "Nymphaeum"
I loved the stone chaise.
To one side was a fountain...
... Fontana Delfini.
Perhaps at one time, water spouted from the mouths of the dolphins.
Further along the path, another fountain featuring the nymph, Iside...
... a theater...
... and a leaning house. These tourists (who I had a short chat with) were having fun with "the leaning tower". Looking at this picture and having been there, I still find it hard to find vertical.
Detailing from the house...
... which really does lean!
There was a courtyard of large vases (you can see how tall they are by comparing them to the person in the picture).
At one end of this courtyard was this statue...
... and at the other end, Nettuno (Neptune).
Of course I wanted to have my picture taken with Neptune's dolphin.
On a path above Neptune, is Donna Dormiente or the sleeping woman.
You might have missed her dog sticking in the crook of her arm in the front view.
On the path beside the sleeping woman, is a stone face with a stone face!
Now it's time for dragons and other creatures!
The detail on the dragon was great.
It's too bad weather has taken its toll and has eroded parts of the statue.
A couple of reverse views.
Another great statue was of the elephant...
... cradling the warrior.
A medical student from Bosnia (and studying in Rome) took this picture of me captured by the scariest monster of all.
There she is... also in the mouth of the monster, the next to be eaten alive! Inside the mouth of the monster (and barely visible in front of me) was a "sacrificial alter"!
This single vase was twice the size of those in the courtyard.
The three headed Cerbero (Cerberus).
Tempio del Vignola.
Orsio... the "Heraldic Bear".
Furia (Fury).
Echidna (the mermaid, Echina)
The lions that stand guard between Fury and Echina.
Proteo Glauco (Proteus Glauco)
As I left the park.
View up towards Bomarzo.
Nature's contribution to the statue park.
Now that's fresh fruit!
The walk back to the bike...
Upon leaving Bomarzo, I headed towards Lake Corbara.
One end of the lake, the water is held back by this huge dam.
On the left, "air" created in front of the dam, on the right, the lake.
Lago di Corbara
Next I stopped in a town called Lubriano...
... a pretty town with a great view...
... towards Bagnoregio.
La Civita of Bagnoregio is only accessible via the long bridge you see in the right of the screen.
Normally you'd take a road from Lubriano twisting down and then up the mountain to get to Bagnoregio but the road was closed.
While I wondered about how I'd detour to la Civita di Bagnoregio...
... I just enjoyed the view from where I was.
A resident of Lubriano gave some directions to myself and the driver of a bus who was taking a busload of tourists there. The driver understood the quick Italian directions for the detour and of course, I didn't. The bus driver told me not to worry... "Just follow me!" A good arrangement!!
Soon we were in the bus parking lot in Bagnoregio proper.
I toured around that area but soon realized that the hike to la Civita was really long from there, especially with motorcycle gear on.
Therefore I hopped on the bike and went a little further along a road which wasn't very bus friendly to make my trek.
Not long after that, I was at the stairs leading to la Civita.
Now that's cool!
You can see why the bridge is pretty much the only way to get there.
The views of the valleys on either side of the road were great.
This is a "reverse view"... that's Lubriano in the distance.
Cars (and a few buses) with permits can go up to this spot where there are shops.
Hey, look! I wasn't the only one gazing out towards la Civita!
Unfortunately I didn't feel that I had the time to make the hike over...
... so I sampled some of the local olives...
... and I stopped at the local gelateria...
... for my new favourite flavour... nocciola (hazelnut)!
I wasn't the only one needing refreshments...
... and a little rest from the long walk!
Small touches like these flowers...
... make a place so much more inviting.
Time to go back to the bike and get going.
A mule and her foal were a lot more sure footed than I was and THEY were directly on the slope!
I was on my way. The afternoon had become evening and it was necessary to get moving. I made a very brief stop in Viterbo to take these pictures.
Another walled city...
... that I'll try to visit next time I'm in Italy.
I arrived at Lago di Vico at the same time as this Italian couple.
I felt badly that I was sharing their evening view because I think they had come there to have some "alone time".
Nevertheless, they were very gracious and shared the view of this volcanic lake and farmland with me.
The gentleman told me that they grew almost exclusively hazelnuts in this low lying land.
Here they are. I feel badly that I've forgotten their names but I think they were very nice to the motorcycle lady who was only there to take pictures, not to ruin their evening.
With a little more twist of the throttle, I JUST beat dusk coming back into Roma for the evening. I went to a neighbourhood restaurant and had a lovely meal of grilled vegetables...
... and "frutti di mare" (seafood). I couldn't help but snap pictures of the food since it was so nicely presented.

Below is a map of my route. "C" is Bombarzo, "D" is Lago di Corbara, "E" is Bagnoregia, and "F" is Lago di Vico.

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