Up and down from Muro Torto to the Pincio

On 1 August 1926, two lifts were inaugurated, involving a difference in height of about 15 metres, connecting the terrace of the Pincio with the Viale del Muro Torto. The installation, built close to the walls inside an artificial tower, was equipped with a shaft, service stairs, an engine room, an upper station and a lower station.

The service was guaranteed from 7 am to 11 pm, with departures every 5 minutes to coincide with the schedules of trams 45 and 46, which connected the new Trionfale district with Piazza Verbano and Piazza Indipendenza respectively. The two lifts were independent of each other: each cabin was equipped with its own set of drive units and a telephone for contacting the control centre in Piazzale Flaminio if necessary. Originally, instead of a telephone, there was an alarm and a lantern that could be lit in the event of a power failure.

The regulations to be followed by the officers were very strict:

“The officer in charge of operating the lifts shall commence his duties well ahead of time (..). Once he has entered the building and closed the entrance door, he shall check the mechanical operation of the access and exit doors to the shafts and cabins and check the doors’ locking system; (…) he shall check and lubricate all moving parts; he shall check the position of the cables (…); he shall inspect the pulleys of the automatic speed-regulating counterweight; he shall check the electric motors of the winches; he shall close the switches in the breaker mechanism for the distribution of electricity. (…) he will give each cabin two empty dry runs, and then two more dry runs each with him inside the elevator cabin (…). He will thoroughly sweep and dust the cabins and entrances to the two stations. Finally, to check the regular operation of the special telephones installed in the cabins and engine room, corresponding with the Flaminio tramway junction station, he will test each communication device. (…), he will open the gates towards the Pincio at the upper station, the access doors for the public at the lower station, and begin service”.

The trams on rails were replaced by more modern buses that used other routes, so the stops at the Muro Torto were discontinued, and in August 1960, after years of honoured service, the Pincio lifts also ceased operations.