La Scarzuola, Architectural ensemble in Montegabbione, Italy.
La Scarzuola is an architectural ensemble in Montegabbione that joins a 13th-century monastery with modern structures, featuring seven theaters and an acropolis amid the Umbrian countryside. The site unfolds across multiple levels with colonnades, towers, and symbolic chambers that weave geometric shapes and figurative elements together.
Francis of Assisi planted a laurel and a rose at this spot in 1218, after which water began flowing from a nearby rock. Architect Tomaso Buzzi acquired the abandoned monastery in the mid-20th century and began constructing his personal city of stone and dream alongside it.
Architect Tomaso Buzzi shaped the site as his vision of an ideal city, weaving together classical forms and surrealist motifs. The compound now presents a collection of theaters and staircases that guide visitors through shifting architectural moods and blur the line between stage and structure.
Visits require advance booking for groups of eight or more, with guided tours offered in Italian and occasionally in English. The winding paths and numerous staircases make sturdy shoes advisable, as the route moves over uneven levels.
The compound includes elements such as the Musical Staircase of Seven Octaves and the Temple of the Female Giant, representing sacred and secular themes. Buzzi deliberately left many parts unfinished, so visitors today see scaffolding, open passages, and fragments that make construction itself part of the artistic statement.
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