What Was The Number Of Faces On Giovanni Dondi Dell'orologio's Astrarium? (2024)

The figure of 107 is historically significant for two reasons:

The lower part of the mechanism contained the primary driving clockwork and two additional faces:

While often not counted as an outward "face" in the same sense as the planetary dials, the lower section also contained a large . This internal component tracked the day of the week, religious feast days (saints' days), and the length of each day throughout the year. The figure of 107 is historically significant for

This face was used for the standard telling of time.

: Used for predicting lunar eclipses (also known as the "node line"). : Used for predicting lunar eclipses (also known

These seven faces included:

This is a fascinating question because it touches on the intersection of history, engineering, and classical astronomy. The short answer is that Giovanni Dondi dell’Orologio’s . Built over a period of 16 years, the

Built over a period of 16 years, the Astrarium was considered a mechanical miracle of the Middle Ages, utilizing 107 moving parts to synchronize these various astronomical and temporal displays.

Dondi’s masterpiece was a "mechanical miracle" of the Middle Ages, consisting of , including complex non-circular gears used to simulate the elliptical-like orbits of Mercury and the Moon. Though the original was likely lost during the 1630 sacking of Mantua, Dondi’s meticulous 1364 treatise, Tractatus Astrarii , has allowed modern horologists to build faithful working replicas. You can view one of these reconstructions at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci in Milan or the University of Padua . Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org

The Astrarium of Giovanni Dondi dell'Orologio, completed in 1364, featured (or dials). These were distributed across its two-story, heptagonal (seven-sided) brass framework. The Upper Section (7 Faces)