Il Conchincollo - L'antico orologio di Ravenna
Synopsis
Almost 2000 years ago, the emperor Claudius Tiberio Germanico had the gigantic statue of the Ercole Orario built in Ravenna, later called by the people "Conchincollo" (conca in neck) since the hero supported a sundial (in the shape of a shell) in a position that closely resembles the iconography of Atlas ruler of the Earth. Today the Conchincollo is both history and myth: after having measured the time of the people of Ravenna for fifteen centuries, in fact, the imposing monument was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1591. Mario Arnaldi, in his careful research, reveals most of the mysteries that still wrap around the legendary statue, highlighting the errors committed by historians in "reconstructing" their form, mode of operation, location and so on. At the same time, Arnaldi introduces the reader into the fascinating world of the gnomonic, the ancient art-science of constructing sundials. A world in which the history of the measurement of time becomes a measure of time and history. The appendices, by M. Arnaldi and G. Zuccalà, placed at the end of the book, introduce the construction of this type of sundials.
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