Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione
Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione
Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione
4.5
Full view
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Best nearby
Restaurants
784 within 3 miles
Attractions
336 within 6 miles
Contribute
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
237 reviews
Excellent
108
Very good
101
Average
27
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Tobbe
Sweden21 contributions
Jun 2023
CItta Alta! Cozy, rustic and full of nice restaurants, and bars. Walk along Mura, and the sceneries below. Take the Funicolare up to Citta Alta, or to San VIgilio. Spectacular wievs at the last one. Visit the churches or museums. Learn about the life through the ages in Citta Alta. Done it, and will do it again.
Written June 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alessandro F
Milan, Italy26,236 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
The sun enters the portico and give you the time, fantastic.
Once you understand how it works, it’s great to spend a few minutes looking at how the sun, so far away, is dedicated to drawing the floor so close to gold. To think how easy it is to forget that there is nothing in the course of our days that can happen without the rest of the universe moving to allow us who are here to enjoy the light and the shadow, to observe the drawings generated by a small hole.
Once you understand how it works, it’s great to spend a few minutes looking at how the sun, so far away, is dedicated to drawing the floor so close to gold. To think how easy it is to forget that there is nothing in the course of our days that can happen without the rest of the universe moving to allow us who are here to enjoy the light and the shadow, to observe the drawings generated by a small hole.
Written December 7, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ColleenCo
Pescara, Italy1,022 contributions
Apr 2015 • Solo
The solar clock built in 1798 does not give the exact time today as over the years the earth's axis shifted - however, it is interesting to see how the sun penetrating a disk above the portico will show, roughly, the passage over the meridian and the zodiac sign too
Written April 26, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
travelsafer
6,906 contributions
Jun 2014 • Couples
This solar clock is under the Palazzo della Ragione in Bergamo Alta. You will need to be walking almost on it to see that this is a solar clock. It has a shape of a long number "8" with zodiac signs all around it. There is a disk with a hole hanged on the building about 20 feet above the ground. The hole will let a ray of light to go in a point of the big 8 on the floor and will tell when it's 12 pm every day. It's more complicated to explain than to see.
Written June 14, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hopehousecottage
Worcester, UK413 contributions
Nov 2019 • Family
Piazza Vecchia, the main square in the centre of the Città Alta (upper city) in Bergamo is an imposing place. The square contains a beautiful fountain at it’s centre and is surrounded by cafes and restaurants. Also crammed in around this relatively small pace are the city’s 17th century cathedral, the astonishing Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, a 12th century tower, a 14th century baptistry and protruding, almost rudely, into the square, the Palazzo della Ragione, replete with loggia.
With all this architectural grandeur to absorb it’s easy to miss the elaborately engraved strips of marble set in ground beneath the loggia. It’s even easier to miss the small bronze disc hanging at the apex of one of the arches. Together the bronze disc and the marble strips form the Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione - a sundial, first installed in 1798 and twice restored over the 200 years or so it’s been there. The marble strips run north-south with the main strip marking local noon and the two thinner outer strips marking a quarter-to and a quarter-past. The bronze disc (the gnomon) casts the shadow to mark the time.
There are all manner of markings engraved into the sundial including an analemma (figure of eight shaped scale showing the path of the sun throughout the year) as well as the signs of the zodiac and other astrological/astronomical stuff. It’s all rather fascinating and quite a bit scientific, and a lot of people just walk straight past (or is it passed?) or over it!
With all this architectural grandeur to absorb it’s easy to miss the elaborately engraved strips of marble set in ground beneath the loggia. It’s even easier to miss the small bronze disc hanging at the apex of one of the arches. Together the bronze disc and the marble strips form the Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione - a sundial, first installed in 1798 and twice restored over the 200 years or so it’s been there. The marble strips run north-south with the main strip marking local noon and the two thinner outer strips marking a quarter-to and a quarter-past. The bronze disc (the gnomon) casts the shadow to mark the time.
There are all manner of markings engraved into the sundial including an analemma (figure of eight shaped scale showing the path of the sun throughout the year) as well as the signs of the zodiac and other astrological/astronomical stuff. It’s all rather fascinating and quite a bit scientific, and a lot of people just walk straight past (or is it passed?) or over it!
Written November 15, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ACL3112
UK3,385 contributions
Jun 2017 • Couples
In the colonnade opposite the cathedral in Bergamo is a meridian line. The central line is marked with the dates and months of the year, there are two lines fanning out which indicate 15 minutes before midday and 15 minutes after midday. Between these two outer lines, an analemma is engraved in the stone.
An analemma is a graph of the position of the sun in the sky at a certain time of day at one place measured throughout the year that has the shape of a figure 8.
In one of the arches in the colonnade is a disk with a hole in the middle. As time approaches midday the light shines through the hole in the disk onto the pavement and moves towards the meridian line.
An analemma is a graph of the position of the sun in the sky at a certain time of day at one place measured throughout the year that has the shape of a figure 8.
In one of the arches in the colonnade is a disk with a hole in the middle. As time approaches midday the light shines through the hole in the disk onto the pavement and moves towards the meridian line.
Written August 12, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Martino C
Peterborough, UK575 contributions
May 2015 • Friends
It is a most complete meridian giving you the time of the month over the whole year. Unfortunately it works only when the sun shines.
Written May 19, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
fanharuka
Bergamo, Italy240 contributions
May 2013 • Friends
if you want to enjoy this "meridiana" (solar clock) at its best you should to check in advance at what time you can see the ray of the sun goes through the lines. Time changes according to different season and it's written on the meridiana itself
Written May 20, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tomek
Poznan, Poland7 contributions
Aug 2021 • Friends
This brilliant creation of human genius is easy to miss. Watch your step carefully, because you don't want to trample this wonder. Look for white marble and an intricately carved groove tracing the path of the sun's rays throughout the year.
Written August 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elizabeth Quinn
20 contributions
Feb 2019 • Solo
A fascinating item which you will stumble upon as you reel from Cathedral and Basilica and try to catch your breath after all that beauty. The lines run across the floor and you wonder what is this? It is a very clever 'flow-chart' showing Meridians, Planets, months and astrological signs, which you can spend as much or as little time as you wish working out.
Written March 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listingMeridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione
- Hotels near Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione:
- (0.03 mi) B&B Bergamo Alta
- (0.06 mi) B&B San Lorenzo
- (0.06 mi) GombitHotel
- (0.11 mi) Palazzo Rivola
- (0.07 mi) Hotel Piazza Vecchia
- Restaurants near Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione:
- (0.03 mi) Caffè del Tasso 1476
- (0.03 mi) Dei Mille Gelateria Pasticceria
- (0.05 mi) Piadella
- (0.05 mi) Bar Flora
- (0.08 mi) Goss Quality Burger
Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione Information
Excellent Reviews | 108 |
|---|---|
Very Good Reviews | 101 |
Meridiana Monumentale del Palazzo della Ragione Photos | 86 |