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Pietro Brosio Gallery



"The Universal Peace", 1976, oil on canvas 100x70cm.

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September 29, 2008

Sundial 1


Modern sundial at Oulx (1127m, Susa Valley, Piedmont)
The inscription says: "Per gli amici qualunque ora" ("For friends any hour").

A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style (a thin rod or a sharp, straight edge) onto a flat surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. As the sun moves across the sky, the shadow-edge progressively aligns with different hour-lines on the plate. (Wikipedia)

In the Valsusa (Piedmont) there are many sundials. Still present on south-facing facades of churches, public buildings or houses, sundials have been used for more than two centuries since the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. In addition to the function for which they were created, namely to know the hour at a time when watches were rare and expensive, sundials held a decorative function.

Comments: 13

sonia a. mascaro
Very beautiful this sundials, Pietro! Love seeing the balconies too.

I would like to thank you so much for your nice comment on my blog anniversary! I am so glad to have your friendship and I enjoyed very much seeing your beautiful photos and paintings.

Catherine
This one is recent. It gives charm to a house.
As Sonia, I love the wooden balconies. No doubt, that picture could be taken in Savoie, Piemont, or Switzerland.
You made me realize that english uses a "d" in Piemonte.

dianasfaria.com
Pietro this is a beautiful work of art. How nice that they have been kept so nicely over the years.

Louise
The sundial is exquisite, but so is this whole piece. I cannot tell if the image (balconies and all) are a photo or a painting. Beautifully executed.

ayamlin
Hi Pietro!
It's really beatiful!
Poeple use sundial still...
What a nice story.
I have an image Italian people value old things.
I like the point of Italian people.
Also Italian people are very bright:)
I wish I lived in Italy!!!

SandyCarlson
Beautiful, Pietro. Thanks for this. It's nice to know that telling the time is as simple as paying attention to the sun--that it is a part of the movement of the earth and not merely and abstraction.

Anonymous
ooouch ))) great great great! the colour combination is so charming, so warm )))

MedaM
This is interesting and impressive. The sundial is beautiful and the balconies are lovely too. Photo is great.

Anonymous
Very interesting note about the sundial and very nice photo. Thanks, Pietro. I always enjoy visiting your blog.

Paz

tr3nta
Valsusa is a beautiful place...
Nice sunwatch photo...

Webradio
Bonjour Pietro !
C'est Léonard de Vinci qui a inventé le cadran solaire ?
Non !
A bientôt ...

Joy
I think this sundial makes the town more historically interesting!

Thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comments. Happy weekend!

joy
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Marie Reed
I think that we should all use sundials more! They are so beautiful and practical!