Villa Girasole is a unique example of Italian Futurist architecture. It was built between 1929-1935 by engineer Angelo Invernizzi and architect Ettore Fagiuoli in Marcellise (San Martino Buon Albergo) near Verona. It is a building that rotates on itself, following the movement of the sun. The structure is based on rails and powered by a motor inside the villa, which has unfortunately been stationary for more than fifty years. The mechanism allowed the villa to make a complete rotation in nine hours and twenty minutes.
The ‘L’-shaped structure makes the villa a unique example of art and architecture, the terrace is the ideal place to admire the view of the valley from every angle, and the surrounding park makes it an ideal place to immerse oneself in nature. Today, the villa cannot be visited and is in need of renovation and restoration. In the early 2000s, the attics were repaired and some work was carried out in the park around the villa, but the engine was no longer running, also due to a subsidence of the ground underneath. Today it is the memory of many Veronese who over time have had access to it, some for a trip with the school, some to admire the view from the terrace, and others simply out of curiosity to see the revolving villa.
A ‘monument to modernity’, Villa Girasole is an original Italian example of a rotating house. It is futurist-inspired and has mechanical and stylistic references to the naval, railway and aviation worlds. Like a sunflower, this house can rotate on itself thanks to an internal motor. Villa Girasole today is a structure that needs to be completely restored: a mission that the Fondazione Il Girasole has set itself and intends to realise in the coming years.
