The Catholic Encyclopedia has an interesting article on church
orientation, including a mention of St. Peter's: <http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_%281913%29/Orientation_of_Churches
>.
-- Richard
On 19-Feb-11, at 11:47 AM, Frank King wrote:
Dear Jackie,
That is an interesting observation...
... I moved from London to Brighton...
In London it seemed usual to say it's on
the left of the street, but here on the
coast, far more people say it's on the
east side.
Next time I am in Brighton I shall test the
natives.
The natives here in Cambridge would almost all
fail. When making arrangements to meet someone
I used to give instructions of the form "I'll
meet you at the WEST door of a certain church."
This never worked and I eventually gave up when
even the Vicar went to the wrong door.
The church in question is properly orientated
with the west end very closely aligned with
due west so there is no excuse!
It has always intrigued me that S. Peter's,
Rome (which is arguably quite an important
church!) is almost exactly 180 degrees wrong
with the "west front" facing east! Take a
look via Google Earth or Google Maps.
That wouldn't matter too much, but the obelisk
in S. Peter's Square is used as a noon mark.
The relevant markings are set out in the pavement
on the north side of the obelisk (as expected)
but when standing on the "west front" of the
church looking out across the square, the noon
shadow is to the left not to the right.
I am not sure I would be able to find the right
door there!
Frank
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