Category: Wall Painted Sundial

PADUA . PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE . SPECTACULAR SUNDIAL

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Padua . Palazzo della Ragione . Sundial . John Renner

PADUA . PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE . SUNDIAL

A confident and assertive sundial to match the glory and prosperity of the city. The lines divide the hours from VIII to IV into quarters. Each has an arrowhead, with (?unusually) reversal of the ‘minor quarter’ arrows.

GNOMON

At first glance you may wonder why there’s just a dark splodge where one might hope to see a gnomon. It is the gnomon. In researching the dial I came across a really helpful photo by Richard Mortel* that reveals the gnomon to be the ‘pin-hole’ type, the effectiveness of which is clearly shown.

Padua . Palazzo della Ragione . Sundial Pinhole . Richard Mortel

The upper half of the dial has an angled line across the whole dial, leading from an indeterminate animal (in fact a sheep) to a set of scales: Aries and Libra in opposition (Note: this Zodiacal conjunction should not be investigated, for fear of unwanted advice about who you should be dating).

There is an additional aspect to this dial that I am currently researching. First of all I have to clear use permission, but I hope to add to write again soon about this splendid dial. The clue is ‘Meridian’.

Credits: John Renner for his excellent photos of this fantastic sundial taken recently; *Richard Mortel for his clear illustrative photo of the gnomon taken a while back (with apologies if I have wrongly taken it as CC / OS)

COGOLIN . VAR . FRANCE – Vertical Dials

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booking.com

L’ÉGLISE SAINT-SAUVEUR et SAINT ÉTIENNE . COGOLIN . VAR

COGOLIN is an attractive and relatively small town with a harbour close to Port Grimaud. Both towns are a short jet-ski ride from St Tropez. The church, with its double dedication, may date to C11.

CHRIST IS THE LIGHT OF NATIONS

This intriguing dial was created by M. Garde-Lebreton in 2018. It manages to combine accuracy, legibility, and charm. An excellent bonus is the very careful explanation of the dial on a separate plate. An object lesson of modern dial design and analysis.

DIAL 2

St-Sauveur has a second attractive dial, another good example of a modern dial that combines its purpose with cheerful style. Engraved and painted on cement.

Props: Michel Lalos

Michal Lalos

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Dial on Church Wall; Modern Dial; France Sundial

CREDITS: Charly Salvesen with many thanks; R Collins; booking.com; Michel Lalos