Gianello della Torre

He worked and lived in Toledo, where he built the Artificio de Juanelo, an engine that, driven by the river itself, lifted water from the Tagus to a height of almost 100 meters, to supply the city and its castle (Alcázar).Della Torre is attributed as the creator of the "Clockwork Prayer", an automaton representing a monk manufactured in the 1560s based on a commission from Philip II of Spain.The model would perform a number of set actions, including the beating of the breast which accompanies the Mea culpa prayer.An automaton of similar age, functions, and appearance is in the collections of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.[6] [4] Another automaton associated with Della Torre is a figure of a lady playing a lute housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.