An upside-down sundial, i.e. a sundial designed for a wall facing practically north. A decidedly unusual position.
During the renovation of an Art Nouveau villa, the choice to make a sundial inevitably fell on the only façade without windows, which also ensured that the work could be seen from the street in front. For this reason, an unusual and extraordinary sundial was realised facing north.
In the upside-down sundial, the entire diagram and the gnomon are reversed, the hour lines are arranged in a fan facing upwards and the gnomon, being inclined so as to be parallel to the earth’s axis, points towards the North Star.
The entire quadrant of the upside-down sundial has been frescoed, taking its cue from the other Art Nouveau windows of the villa, echoing the same framing of the windows and the rose motif that accompanies each one. The decoration is completed with musician angels, celebrating music as the artistic expression most intimately linked to the temporal dimension.
The diagram, by showing the projections of the arcs of the ecliptic, both the visible one above the horizon and the invisible one below the horizon, offers the extraordinary possibility of being able to represent (and see) even the sky that cannot be seen because it is hidden below the horizon.