Palermo

Interesting Sights

The Cathedral has a heliometer (solar "observatory") of 1690, one of a number{{fn|1}} built in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The device itself is quite simple: a tiny hole in one of the minor domes acts as Pinhole camera, projecting an image of the sun onto the floor at solar noon (12:00 in winter, 13:00 in summer). There is a bronze line, la Meridiana on the floor, running precisely N/S. The ends of the line mark the positions as at the summer and winter solstices; signs of the zodiac show the various other dates throughout the year.

Related Topics:
Heliometer - Pinhole camera - La Meridiana

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:The purpose of the instrument was to standardise the measurement of time and the calendar. The convention in Sicily had been that the (24 hour) day was measured from the moment of sun-rise, which of course meant that no two locations had the same time and, more importantly, did not have the same time as in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It was also important to know when the Vernal Equinox occurred, to provide the correct date for Easter.

Related Topics:
Time - Calendar - St. Peter's Basilica - Vernal Equinox - Easter

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:The "solar clock" can be up to 16 minutes fast or slow. The reason for this is explained fully in Main Articles Analemma and Equation of time, but can be summarised thus: the earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours but it also orbits the sun. Thus the sun will appear directly over the same spot increasingly early (or late) each day. The correct track to draw on the ground is a figure 8 rather than a line.

Related Topics:
Analemma - Equation of time

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One site of interest is the Capuchin Catacombs, with many mummified corpses in varying degrees of preservation.

Related Topics:
Capuchin - Catacombs - Mummified - Corpse

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Close to the city is 600 meter high Monte Pellegrino, with spectacular views of the city, its surrounding mountains and the ocean. In his book, "Travels in Italy" Goethe described Monte Pellegrino as the most beuatiful promontory in the world.

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The astonishing stucco work of the baroque sculptor Giacomo Serpotta can be seen in many of the city's churches but his masterpiece must be the Oratorio del Rosario in Santa Cita (or Santa Zita).

Related Topics:
Stucco - Baroque - Giacomo Serpotta

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