Hi Erwin,
Did you have a good holiday?
I would have liked to stay in Italy a bit longer, I noticed when I got home, because no, I haven’t really completely rested this summer.
Naturally. I had a nice meal, a good location and also a good read, but I didn’t feel like watching, didn’t want to really delve into it. My curiosity was locked.
I noticed it in Brisighella ‘s bell tower. For two weeks straight it stood like an exclamation mark on a rock in the undulating hilly landscape around me.
I saw the tower from our garden. I saw the tower on the way to the Conad. I saw the tower when I went to get bottles of Albana and Romagna Sangiovese at wine cooperative. I saw the tower as we walked through Brisighella. And I saw the tower as we drove to Faenza, Ravenna or further up the coast.
But I didn’t see him.
Take a good look at that tower, yes, the photo at the top. The clock does not indicate the traditional 12 hours, but has a division of six areas, the Ora Italica. A time indication that they used in Italy from the 14th to the 18th century.
Certainly, even in Italy a day consisted of 24 hours. But they didn’t divide it into two times twelve hours, but into four parts of six. When the sun went down, it was 24 hours and a new day began. If it was eighteen, there were still six hours to go until sunset, which coincided with the closing of the city or castle gates. Disadvantage: the time was nowhere the same, because yes, the sun did not set at the same time everywhere.
When Napoleon occupied large parts of Italy, he introduced the ‘French’ era – which we still use today. Time took on a different appearance in Italy. In some towns it just stayed on the Ora Italica.
From: Cor Hospes’ newsletter
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Image: Ciao Tutti. An initiative of Saskia Balmaekers, weblog about Italy.