Giovanni Dondi’s Astrarium

The astrarium is a planetary clock capable of determining the position ofthe Moon, Sun and planets, as well as the time and the festivities of the year. It is a masterpiece of the Middle Ages. The last known description dates back to 1529, when Emperor Charles V arrived in Italy. Giovanni Dondi describes its construction in a treaty, and it was thanks to this original text that it was possible to rebuild the astrarium in 1963.