The Tovrea Castle earned its name from the property’s second owner, Della Tovrea, who made the castle her home from the 1930s until the late 1960s. However, the castle’s construction began shortly beforehand when Alessio Carraro, a successful Italian immigrant businessman, sold his sheet-metal business on the West Coast, and relocated his family to the Phoenix area. He had high hopes of creating a desert resort that included a cactus garden, metal shop, gas station, and an aviary among other features.

A visitor to the Tovrea Castle might find the cake-like shape of the building odd, but Carraro wanted the structure’s design to reflect the style of castles built in Italy. He also brought in professional assistance to develop the cactus garden, which was to be a defining feature of the planned resort. Unfortunately, Carraro’s dream of a desert resort remained unrealized, and he sold the property only two years after construction began.

During the majority of the time that Della Tovrea owned the castle she used it as a part-time residence, and the cactus garden’s quality declined. In 1989, the city of Phoenix began the processes necessary to purchase the Tovrea Castle and its surrounding property in an effort to preserve Carraro’s vision of a desert resort. The city continues its efforts to restore the property to its initial purpose and to make it as accessible to the public as possible. Visitors to the castle can now tour the building.