(Note. image 1 aerial view shows the L shaped building and its tracks on which it rotates)
Built between 1931 and 1935 in the hills of Marcellise, just outside Verona, Villa Girasole is one of the most remarkable and eccentric private residences of the 20th century.
What makes it particularly fascinating is that it was conceived not by a conventional architect, but by a wealthy Italian engineer, Angelo Invernizzi (1884–1958), who wanted to create an entirely new relationship between architecture, technology, nature and domestic comfort.
Invernizzi was a successful engineer and entrepreneur from Genoa who specialised in reinforced-concrete construction.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Italian architects were experimenting with modernism while maintaining connections to classical composition and monumentality.
In the late 1920s, he began imagining a summer residence that could move according to the position of the sun.
His ambition was relatively simple: Why should a house remain stationary when its environment is constantly changing? He wanted to control sunlight, ventilation, temperature and views throughout the day.
The mechanism was inspired by railway turntables and consists of circular tracks, steel wheels and motorised carriages.
Invernizzi's villa reflects several overlapping influences: Italian Rationalism, Italian Futurism and the tradition of an Italian Villa.
Source: Aurelien Raymond
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