Thursday, January 12, 2017

The “Torrino”

Torrino (Tower) by Gaetano Baccani, Giardino Torrigiani, Torrigiani Garden, Via dei Serragli, Via del Campuccio, Florence

“Torrino” (Tower) by Gaetano Baccani, 1824
Giardino Torrigiani (Torrigiani Garden)
Via dei Serragli / Via del Campuccio
Florence, January 2017

“After Digny the architect-engineer Gaetano Baccani was engaged and following his success in designing the bell tower for the church of Santa Croce he incorporated a neo-gothic tower which alluded to the family crest. Almost twenty-two metres high, it housed a collection of astronomical instruments, a library, and a terrace from which to study the heavens. Connecting the floors there is not only a stone spiral staircase but also a mechanical chair activated by pulleys which permitted a speedy ascent. Nearby, below the artificial hill, is part of the original defence bastion erected in 1544 by Cosimo I dei Medici.” (History, Giardino Torrrigiani)