Architectural Carving

This soapstone carving of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in a bell jar on the original marble base would have reminded members of the Ridgely family of their sojourns abroad. The family’s most extensive travel came during a “Grand Tour” from October 1846 until early September 1847. Their tour began in Pisa, Italy, before continuing on to Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo, Messina, Syracuse, Malta, Athens, Smyrna, Constantinople, Syra, Corfu, Trieste, Venice, Vienna, Freuwaldau, Graffenberg, Prague, Dresden, Leipsig, Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Hamm, Cologne, Leige, Brussels, and Paris.