Geographical position

Aiello del Friuli is a municipality in the Province of Udine, Italy.

As the whole village forms this site, we have chosen the ’Museo della Civiltà Contadina del Friuli Imperiale’ (Via F. Petrarca 1, 33041 Aiello del Friuli UD, Italy) as the geographical position.

Location

Latitude 45.8707°, Longitude 15,13.3638°, Elevation 18 m

General description

This small Italian village contains over a hundred different sundials, distributed around six different zones. Since the year 2001 the village has hosted an annual “Festa delle Meridiane” (Sundial festival) in the springtime. Each year, a small number of newly created sundials compete for the title “sundial of the year”.

Brief inventory

Aiello del Friuli contains well over a hundred sundials, distributed around six different zones of the village. An overview about the various ways in which time has been measured can be found in the “courtyard of sundials” next to the museum of Peasant Civilisation, which itself contains around 20 sundials. Throughout the village, there are (currently) 15 reflective sundials using a mirror. The total number of sundials increases each year, and a brief inventory could not represent the variety of types of sundial available. For this reason, you can find a visual overview in our Gallery of sundials .

History

In 1994, Aurelio Pantanali, president of the Circolo Culturale “Navarca”—a local cultural initative—constructed the first sundial on the wall of his house. Other community members liked that idea and asked him to build other sundials on their homes. In the 25 years since then, well over 100 sundials have been constructed throughout the village by as many as 68 artists. Each year, a few more are added to this unique collection of artistically and functionally diverse sundials. Since 2001 the village has hosted an annual “sundial festival” in the springtime.

Present use

The growing popularity and unique image of the “village of the sundials” is resulting in growing revenue from tourism which is creating jobs and securing livelihoods for the villagers.

The ’Festa delle Meridiane’

Every year, the village celebrates with a three-day festival, during which the winner of the annual sundial contest is announced. In 2019, for example, the following four sundials are competing for the “Sundial of the Year” prize.

 

State of conservation

The sundials are constructed by individual artists on private properties. The respective property owners are responsible for any conservation efforts.

Main threats or potential threats

Currently none known.

Protection

There is no coordinated effort to deal with protection issues in the village, although people are working together to further the village’s image as “village of the sundials”.

Bibliography (books and published articles)

See the links to external sites.

Links to external sites

• Aiello del Friuli - Il Paese delle Meridiane (village website)
• Il Sole e il Tiempo (project website)
• Link to Google Maps