Casa Pendente, a photo from Viterbo, Lazio

Photographer's Note

Leaning House
It is perhaps the best known element of the entire garden, one of the most striking oddities of the Sacred Wood, a leaning house specially built on a sloping boulder. It is naturally uninhabitable and bare inside, which also shows an irregular slope, the floor is not perpendicular to the walls, causing bewilderment and dizziness in those who enter it.
On one of the facades of the house the inscription is still legible:
ANIMUS QUIESCENDO FIT PRUDENTIOR ERGO
(By keeping silent the soul becomes more sensible)
The building appears to be about to fall but resists, firmly anchored to the rock. It is one of the first realizations of the Sacred Wood and was probably built by Giulia Farnese in 1555 when Vicino was a prisoner in a foreign land, captured in 1553 during the siege of Hesdin, as a wish so that the unhappy situation of his spouse would resolve itself in favorable way. On one wall of the building you can read the inscription:
CRIST MADRUTIO TRIDENTINE PRINCIPLES DICATUM
It is a dedication to Madruzzo, bishop of Trento since 1539, who probably intervened with the Spaniards to free Vicino.

ikeharel, pierrefonds, Fis2, jemaflor, ktanska, jean113, adramad, PaulVDV, macjake, mcmtanyel heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

lousat (140058) 2022-06-19 2:41

Ciao Silvio, tu vai matto per le pendenze a sinistra e sicuramente hai apprezzato molto questo soggetto, leggo che è stata costruita appositamente cosi' e mi fido anche se sembra franata per conto suo sul lato, forse una idea per turisti per ricalcare il successo della torre di Pisa. Buona Domenica,Luciano

holmertz (103710) 2022-06-19 2:42

Hello Silvio,
This is not as famous as the "leaning tower" of Pisa, but it is leaning much more distinctly. It was a bizarre idea to build the house like this, just for the funny effect, but it suits this strange garden perfectly. This must be today's most unexpected photo on TE.
Best regards,
Gert

ikeharel (114715) 2022-06-19 3:45

Ciao Silvio,
The title "Casa pendente" came to my mind before opened the thumbnail, describes well the situation ofb this ruins.
i am sure it will be kept as it has different artistic element depicted on its walls. A fine take under the shadows.
Arrivederci,
Ike

pierrefonds (115645) 2022-06-19 4:43

Hi Silvio,

Les arbres cadrent bien la maison. La prise de vue permet de voir les détails de cette vieille maison inclinée. La lumière donne un bon rendu aux couleurs de l'image. Bonne journée.

Pierre

Fis2 (172049) 2022-06-19 7:01

Witaj Silvio!
A very curious place, the Leaning House makes impression.
Good POV, colors and light.
I like it.
Well done.
Good sunday afternoon.
Krzysztof

Tue (93556) 2022-06-19 8:32

Hello Silvio,
The photo of this house seems to be pretty tilted, but this only shows how much the houses is actually leaning to the left. Well captured in a fine sunlight and nice pattern of shadows in the foreground.
Lars

jmdias (116601) 2022-06-19 15:22

silvio

a surrealist building, built to be tilted and create a surprise in the visitors. very interesting.

take care

jorge

ifege (49573) 2022-06-19 21:40

Hi Silvio
At first I thought that it was about to tumble but on closer examination you can see how it was carefully and playfully built like that. A great one.
cheers
Ian

jemaflor (148334) 2022-06-19 23:43

Hi Silvio,
So impressive ! Well taken, good quality for your original and interesting photo, tfs.

emka (158936) 2022-06-19 23:49

Ciao caro Silvio, This leaning house looks strange and it seems it is built deliberately in this way.
Original composition.

Best regards MAlgo

pajaran (117171) 2022-06-20 1:30

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepa stara arhitektura i zeleno drvece, dobro pokazano sa lepim bojama i kontrastom.
Dobar rad, lepa fotografija.
lepa stara kuca i fasada.

Zelim vam lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje u novoj nedelji koja je pocela.
Paja

mkamionka (75217) 2022-06-20 5:47

Ciao Silvio,
Quite an extraordinary idea. The house is clearly leaning in the frame. Very well seen and captured. A lot of the elements of this garden are covered with the shadow which makes them harder to see with no direct sunshine. But of course we see enough to be able to appreciate the beauty of the place,
M

ktanska (45116) 2022-06-20 11:09

Hi Silvio,
So strange sculptures are not only odd things in this place. Such a building is indeed strange, and it was not easy to build either. Fun scene nicely surrounded by foliage.
Kari

jean113 (28325) 2022-06-21 8:36

Hello Silvio, I actually feel dizzy just looking at this shot!
I am surprised that it is so old. It can't have been easy building it!
Informative note. You did well in taking the shot, so that we get a real impression of its' leaning.
Kind regards, Jean.

vjmite (6706) 2022-06-21 21:59

Hi Silvio,

A very eccentric piece of sculpture or architecture. The building looks like it's about to fall over. This is a good point of view to capture its lean.It must be fun to walk around this park and find all the grotesque sculptures.

Vince

adramad (73496) 2022-06-22 10:48

Hello Silvio.
The amazing inclination of this house, and even more so that it remains standing after more than four hundred years, the success must be the good anchorage to the rock and the strong materials used in its construction.
Magnificent image, with good lighting, color and sharpness.
Good work. I like it
Enjoy a happy day.
Very best regards, my friend.
Luis.

PaulVDV (63546) 2022-06-22 11:56

Hello Silvio,
Much more leaning than every building I've ever seen.
Even much more leaning than the famous tower in Pisa.
I wouldn't feel safe on the stairs or under the arch to the left anymore.
Best regards, Paul

macjake (98544) 2022-06-24 12:56

Hi Silvio
I wish you could have taken an interior shot as well, you describe it so detailed..but now I want to see it. sounds very interesting. what a great subject, so cool, so weird and oddly fascinating. excellent post
cheers
craig

mcmtanyel (69348) 2022-06-26 20:08

Hello Silvio,
This reminds me of those leaning houses in amusement parks. But I am sure this was not built in an amusement park. It is a shame it cannot be used, it is so pretty.
Regards,
MT