Tovrea Castle and Carraro Cactus Garden

Description

Newcomers aren't sure what to make of this odd construct, which has been likened to many things -- one of the better printable ones a hunk of wedding cake crowned by giant green candles (i.e., the swarm of saguaros standing sentinel around the castle). It was built by Italian entrepreneur Alessio Carraro and named after meat-packing magnate Edward Tovrea, who bought the baronial digs for his wife, Della, in 1931. The lonely and battered but still somehow regal edifice, currently owned by the City of Phoenix and under renovation, now holds court over a section of town whose elegance long ago faded.