Nestled in the hills near Verona, with a sweeping spiral staircase and art deco mosaic floors, this rotating villa was the brainchild of Italian architects Angelo Invernizzi and Ettore Fagiuoli. Christened Casa Girasole, it was designed to follow the sun as it moves across the sky (“girasole” translates as “sunflower”), with gears underneath the house that rotate the modernist structure at a barely perceptible nine inches per hour, allowing the wide, curved terrace panoramic views over the countryside. Built in the 1930s as an example of Italian “Futurismo” architecture, it’s the subject of a new book, Il Girasole: A House Near Verona as well as a beguiling film by Christoph Schaub and Marcel Meili which illuminates the original interiors.
Text by Hannah Lack
Il Girasole: A House Near Verona is available here
