TIME WILL TELL: ITALY'S TIMEPIECES Plana's Perpetual Calendar, Turin What if there was a historical calendar that could track every day, month and year, from the year 1 A.D to 4,000 A.D.? Well, there is. Tucked away in the tiny Baroque chapel of Bankers and Merchants in Turin is a quirky device known as the Perpetual Calendar. It was invented by an Italian astronomer and mathematician called Plana in the early 18th century. Stopped Station Clock, Bologna There’s nothing quite like a stopped clock to demonstrate a psychological phenomenon. The small station clock that juts out of the stonework of Bologna Central Railway Station has its own strange chronological story. The original buildings were constructed in a neoclassical style at the turn of the 20th century. During the summer of 1980, a neo-facist terrorist group bombed the station, killing and injuring a few hundred people. The blast also temporarily caused the clock hands to freeze, but it was repaired quickly. Years later in 1996, the clock broke, and the city’s decision makers decided that it should not be repaired but permanently stopped and used to commemorate the tragic massacre that happened 16 years earlier. The clock was set to 10.25am, the time of the bombing. In 2008, a new station was completed to make way for the new high-speed train network, and the clock followed the same act of remembrance, which continues today. A team of psychologists interviewed local residents in 2010, including station staff and daily commuters who used the station every day. The majority of these people earnestly stated that the clock had been damaged in the blast and was frozen in time for the entire 16 years between 1980 and 1996, despite the fact they would have seen and relied on the clock during these years. This helped confirm the collective false memory phenomenon known as the ‘Mandela Effect’. You can see the stopped clock for yourself, particularly if you are going on a high-speed rail journey of your own through Bologna. Suggested Stay: PHI Hotel Bologna - Al Cappello Rosso, Bologna Despite its age and lack of WIFI, it can tell you what day of the week your birthday will fall in the year 3,000. The calendar is made from nine fragile wood and paper cylinders, which are inscribed with 46,000 tiny numbers. You operate it by inputting the year under an ornate golden frame, and then various gears and chains simultaneously begin cranking into activity, showing information such as phases of the moons, tides, Catholic holidays, solar cycles, and days of the weeks across a whopping 40 centuries. The Perpetual Calendar took Plana 10 years to complete, from planning to final assembly, and it’s no wonder why. It can distinguish between dates that follow the Julian and Gregorian calendar, and even leap years! With delicate imagery, it also chronicles popes and features portraits of kings and rulers. Suggested Stay: PHI Hotel Bologna - Grand Hotel Sitea, Turin St. Andrew Tower Clock, Chioggia Chioggia, a seaside town south of Venice, is said to hold the world’s oldest still-functioning clock, the Torre dell’Orologio Sant Andrea, despite stiff competition from Salisbury Cathedral in England for the official world record title. Situated in a Romanesque tower, it dates back to the 14th century and is now attested to have been designed by Jacopo de’Dondi, long before the clockmaker and his family moved to Padua and designed the famous astronomical clock there. Interestingly, this clock moved from its original position in the town’s Palazzo Pretorio after a fire and now acts as a bell tower for Chiesa San Andrea, even though the church was built centuries later. Divided into 24 hours, the clock has just one hand. The clocktower is believed to have once been a lighthouse and a watchtower, but today its insides have been converted into an unusual vertical museum, which you can visit. It snakes up several floors as it celebrates Chioggia’s history, and from the belfry, you’ll receive an exceptional view! Suggested Stay: Hotel Monaco and Grand Canal, Venice The time is now to plan your next <strong>Citalia</strong> holiday! Speak to one of our Personal Travel Planners on 01293 765061 30 <strong>Citalia</strong>.com
BEHIND THE CASK Classic Chianti In the heart of Tuscany, straddling Florence and Siena, are the renowned Chianti Hills, home to arguably Italy’s most famous dry red, and one of its most ancient wines. <strong>Winter</strong> 2022/23 <strong>Andiamo</strong>!