Re: Re: high dials

[Mario Arnaldi]

Hi,   as you know my researche is faced on medieval sundials, and usually I find them almost at eye hight, but sometime I found many very high on the wall. In some case I may know why. One example for all: in Piacenza (Italy) there is a magnificent sundial on the cathedral, it is a statue with the sundial in his hands (you may see it in my article on GI (orologi solari medievali a 'tutto tondo'). The statue is more than 10 meter hight on a pillar of the church and the lines are very hard to be read. I suppose that all the medieval sundials were painted so they were more easy to be read even in hight places but nevertheless more than ten meter is too much. One may puzzle on it: "why so hight?", but the reason is lighted by the name of the squeare facing the dial. The squeare is named "little squeare of the cloisters". Today the cloisters and the cemetery of the priests, that was inside the cloisters, are not more there. The name of the squeare say "cloisters", this may mean two levels of cloister, one up the other. I saw other double cloisters in my trip looking for medieval sundials, and just in another one in South of Italy I found a medieval sundial easy readable only standing on the floor of the second level cloister, the dial, not more than 30 cm diameter, was very close to the roof and unfindable from the ground, while at the second cloister level you may find it al eye level.   Mario ----------------------------------------------------------------- Mario Arnaldi Via Cavour, 57c 48100 Ravenna Lat. 44° 25' N - Lon. 12° 12' E Italy -----------------------------------------------------------------