The Stone Staircase of Taganrog is one of the most famous sights of the city. It begins on Grecheskaya Street, where the historical center of Taganrog is located, and descends to the Pushkin Embankment. The length of the Stone Staircase reaches 108 meters.
Taganrog is located on a high promontory, so residents had to go down to the sea along steep paths. Local merchant Gerasim Depaldo in 1823 allocated money for the construction of a stone staircase. The author of the project was the Italian architect Franz Boffo. He made a staircase with different lengths of steps, because of this, everyone notes that the Stone Staircase of Taganrog violates the laws of perspective.
If you look at the staircase from below, it seems that it has the same width throughout, although according to the laws of perspective it should narrow to the top. If you look at the Stone Staircase from above, then because of several wide platforms, the bottom of the staircase is not visible and it seems very short. The same principles were applied by the architect Boffo in 1825, when he built the Potemkin Staircase in Odessa.
Due to several platforms and steps of different widths, many tourists cannot count the number of steps and often make mistakes. According to legend, you need to make a wish and count the number of steps during the descent and ascent. If it is the same, then the wish will come true.
A sundial was installed on the top of the Stone Staircase in 1833. They are considered one of the oldest sundial in Russia and are also a landmark of Taganrog.
