A Curious Shape

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Today I recommend... a nice slice of polenta!



No, I’m not talking about food. Today I’m taking you on a journey to the first capital of Italy, Turin, to visit a very curious building: Casa Scaccabarozzi, also known with the name of Slice of Polenta, which is one of the narrowest buildings in the world with one of its side measuring just 54 centimetres!



The nickname commonly attributed by the people of Turin, Slice of Polenta, is most probably given by the curious shape of the building, that make it resembling a real slice , but also its characteristic yellow colour.



The building, built in 1840, has got a triangular shape (16 metres x 5 metres x 54 centimetres) and consists of 9 floors, 2 of which are underground, all connected through an internal staircase. The total height of the building is 24 meters.



It seems that the Slice of Polenta was built more as a bet then for real need. Architect Antonelli was given a small trapezoid land, left over from other projects on the block but the piece of land was oddly shaped, so he tried to buy from his neighbours to expand his little piece of land, but when they refused he bet he would build anyway.

And so he did!



At the time people were fearful that the building would just fall apart, so to prove them wrong the architect and his wife moved in.

Now, after 177 years later, the Slice of Polenta not only still stands but it also survived a nearby explosion, earthquakes and world war two bombings. Amazing!



Have a lovely journey!

Morena Giannascoli

P.S. Do you know of any other curious building? Write it down in the comments and if you liked this article don’t forget to share.

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