THE CLOCK TOWER

Build on 1822 by Antonio Podrini of Sant’Angelo in Vado, the clock consists of four faces. Starting from the top, the first indicates the phases of the Moon. It shows the lunar globe as a face which, during its orbit of approximately 29 days and 12 hours, presents its right profile when the moon wanes, the front face when it is full, the left profile when it waxes and hides with the new moon.
To understand the second clock - which indicates the “Italic” time - we must keep in mind that, in olden days, the time was regulated on the basis of the canonical hours (matins, tierce, sext, nones, vespers and compline), associated to variations in the light during the day (it is evident, in fact, that

intervals were shorter during daytime in winter and longer in the summer). 
The pointer of this face makes four revolutions in a period of 24 hours. The number VI indicates successively the middle of the night, dawn, the middle of the day and sunset. The following face is an astronomical clock showing the hours and minutes according to present criteria. Originally this clock had the hour hand only; in recent times the minute pointer was added to enhance the legibility of the display. The fourth face is a calendar which gives the days of the week and the month. At the bottom, we can see a little sundial which was used by the “moderator” to reset the clocks.