This wonderful example of a scaphe dial is one of 3 dials in the Botanical Gardens of Padua. There is also a cube dial and a cylinder dial (separate post). This first-ever public garden* was created in 1545, and the original layout has been preserved. This is not the space for a short wander round, but there’s plenty of interesting material online. It has been an important centre for scientific research since its inception and, unsurprisingly, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

*Pisa’s botanical garden was actually completed a year earlier but disqualified on a technicality that I haven’t pursued.

GSS Category: Scaphe Dial; Botanical Garden Sundial; Europe Dials

All photos: John Renner, with many thanks