A sundial in a dark chamber (camera obscura). Light enters through a small opening and projects an inverted image of the sun on the floor. The sundial is called a "meridian" (midday). St. John the Baptist is the patron saint of gnomonists - John 3:30: "He must increase, but I must decrease." June 24 is the feast day of St. John the Baptist, and since then the days have been decreasing, while from December 25 the days have been increasing. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD decreed that Easter be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon after the equinox. All other holidays related to Easter are moved to the date of Easter.

Similar meridians were made:

• Florence Cathedral in 1476, by Toscanelli
• S. Petronio in Bologna in 1575, by Danti
• S. Maria degli Angeli in Rome in 1702, by Bianchini
• Milan Cathedral in 1786, Ruđer Bošković participated in the design

We did not want to copy the outline of a straight long line (meridian) nor the function of determining the calendar, but to mark only 3 important points, while giving a modernist and minimalist outline on the floor.

Characteristics of the meridian:

• Height of the hole: 6 m
• Diameter of the hole: 11 mm
• Ellipse of Christmas size 17/45cm at 15,065m
• Ellipse of Easter term size 10/14cm at 5,968m
• Ellipse of St. John the Baptist size 7/7.5cm at 2,354m

The sundial was created in 2012 on the occasion of the 830th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis of Assisi, and the authors of the sundial are Franko Kaić and Walter Scotti.

(Reported and written by: W. Scotti)