The astronomical clock

Following the surrender of Padova to Venice in 1405, the new rulers immediately set about erasing all traces of the Carrara family, as far as possible, by trasforming the urban landscape. A new tower was built, and in it was placed a new clock wich marked the time, the days and months, the phases of the moon, the motion of the planets, and the signs of the zodiac. Its construction was considered to be of public usefulness, and it is a faithful copy of the mechanism originally designed by Jacopo Dondi. Jacopo's clock falls within the sphere of Aristotelian concepts and the Ptolemaic (Earth-centred) model of the universe, but it also had links with the astrological theories of Pietro d'Abano, a pivotal figure in a scientific tradition wich found fertile soil in the Studio (University) of Padova -a tradition carried on by physicians, philosophers and astronomers, which flourished through the centuries to Galileo Galilei and beyond.

Info
Free entry
Open: Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays
Maximum 10 persons
Visits start from Piazza Capitaniato 19
Times: 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30
Group bookings: salvalarte@legambientepadova.it
tel. +39 049 8561212