All around Italy you will find some of the most stunning towns, castles, palaces, churches and other buildings that can be found in the entire world. You will also be able to find some rather bizarre feats of architecture that are both beautiful and odd. These have the satisfaction of both pleasing the visitor's eye and astounding them with their fascinating origin stories and eccentric design quirks. We have put together a list of some of these architectural gems so that you can go on an architectural tour of Italy that is off-beat, intriguing and far from the regular tourist crowds.
Gubbio, for example, is home to a number of lovely town squares, impressive palaces and pretty churches but the most fascinating of all these monuments is a 16th century fountain, affectionately as the “Fountain of the Madmen”. The actual name of this fountain is Fontana del Bargello, named for the palace in front of which is stands.
Gubbio, for example, is home to a number of lovely town squares, impressive palaces and pretty churches but the most fascinating of all these monuments is a 16th century fountain, affectionately as the “Fountain of the Madmen”. The actual name of this fountain is Fontana del Bargello, named for the palace in front of which is stands.
Located in a piazza in the centre of the town, it acts as an obvious focal point where residents and tourists alike are drawn. Its nickname, the Fountain of the Madmen, comes from a local legend that states that anyone to run around it thrice will go insane.
Visitors can even gain a license of "matto di Gubbio" (literally, "madman of Gubbio") by being baptised with its waters after making the three turns around the fountain. Find a holiday rental in Umbria and you can pay a visit to Gubbio and her mysterious fountain.
Rome, meanwhile, is home to a rather famous door. Right in the central district of Piazza Vittorio, inside the park, the remains of an old villa reveal the Porta Alchemica, the “Alchemist Door” that locals often call the “Magic Door.”
Visitors can even gain a license of "matto di Gubbio" (literally, "madman of Gubbio") by being baptised with its waters after making the three turns around the fountain. Find a holiday rental in Umbria and you can pay a visit to Gubbio and her mysterious fountain.
Rome, meanwhile, is home to a rather famous door. Right in the central district of Piazza Vittorio, inside the park, the remains of an old villa reveal the Porta Alchemica, the “Alchemist Door” that locals often call the “Magic Door.”
This portal is famous among locals and steeped in legend but most tourists never see it and walk right on by. Built in the early 1600s by the Roman marquis Massimiliano Palombara, it is the only remaining of five gate doors to the Marquis' villa. The door is covered in symbols and inscriptions and, according to legend, come from when the Marquis met an alchemist at a dinner party who proclaimed to be able to transform metals into gold.
The villa was, sadly, destroyed during the construction of the Esquilino quarter but the door was saved, perhaps because of the legends and mystery surrounding it. Find a vacation rental in Rome and discover this hidden gem for yourself!
For more bizarre architectural feats in Italy to round off your tour, be sure to read on to our next article!
The villa was, sadly, destroyed during the construction of the Esquilino quarter but the door was saved, perhaps because of the legends and mystery surrounding it. Find a vacation rental in Rome and discover this hidden gem for yourself!
For more bizarre architectural feats in Italy to round off your tour, be sure to read on to our next article!