ANALEMMATIC SUNDIAL, ITALY

This excellent analemmatic sundial is installed in the square at the very top of the small medieval town of Calenzano Alto, which perches on a hill above the major industrial sprawl and motorway network of the Arno plain between Prato and Florence.

The sundial takes up a substantial area of the large piazza, and consists of a central sun/moon stone mosaic with radiating ‘sight’ lines to small brass plates numbered from VI to XVIII (in fact number VI is missing, the rest are there). The gnomon is the person who stands at the centre of the sun. There are no buildings close enough to obstruct the sun’s light, so on a sunny or even a bright day, the time can be easily told at least approximately… were it not for the cars that are normally parked all over the square!

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