Isabella Leone

We present an iconographical study of the largely unpublished pictorial cycle of the History of Astronomy in the roman Palazzo Patrizi-Montoro, dated about 1700. The work is unprecedented in its range and scopes and constitutes the decoration of the hitherto unknown observatory of the artists- astronomers Mariano and Francesco Felice Patrizi, active during the pontificate of Innocens XII and Clemens XI. The sequence of eighteen
large-format paintings, complemented by four single herms carrying astronomical attributes, is presently preserved in the original Atelier-Specola of the attic of the building and in the second floor where some canvases have been moved, with the exception of a painting (recovered on an old photographic plate) and a herm, that appear to be missing. A large
celestial planisphere painted on a ceiling of the attic and some astronomical instruments are also surviving. The cycle features 85 historical episodes since the first century BC to the XVII century AD, some explained with a short textual description, but the majority associated only to a year, often imprecise or plainly wrong. We propose identifications for
a number of antiquarian architectural settings and a general discussion of the iconographic themes represented. Furthermore, we show some interesting visual evidences of an influence by the astronomer and proto archeologist Francesco Bianchini, at the time superintendent of the Roman Antiquities for Clement XI.

We present a preliminary study of the largely unpublished pictorial cycle of the History of Astronomy in the roman Palazzo Patrizi-Montoro, dated about 1700. The work is unprecedented in its range and scopes and probably constitutes the decoration of an hitherto unknown observatory atelier of the astronomers-artists Mariano and Francesco Felice Patrizi, active during the pontificate of Innocens XII and Clemens XI.
The sequence of 18 large-format paintings, complemented by 4 single herms carrying astronomical attributes, is presently preserved in the attic of the building and in the first floor, where some canvases have been moved, with the exception of a painting and a herm which appear to be missing. A large celestial planisphere painted on a ceiling of the attic and some scientific instruments are also surviving, pointing to technical activities in the field of the science of the stars in the little known context of the Italian astronomy between the XVII and XVIII centuries. The cycle features 81 surviving historical episodes since the first century BC to the XVII century AD, some explained with a short textual description, but the majority associated only to a year, often imprecise or plainly wrong. We offer here a brief portrait of the Patrizi family and palace and an overview of the iconographical problems posed by the paintings.

We present the project “Roman Astronomical Trails between Renaissance and Baroque” (RATRB), aimed at exploiting the cultural and scientific heritage of the Eternal city and selected and funded by the municipality of Rome in the spring of 2019 for the urban festival of science communication Eureka! RATRB, organized by the Cultural Association Calipso, proposed a series of tours in historical locations all around the town: Villa Farnesina, the Collegio Romano, Palazzo Barberini, the Casino dell’Aurora in Villa Ludovisi, the Convento di Trinità dei Monti and Santa Maria degli Angeli with their magnificent sundials. The attendees have in this way discovered a hidden dimension of the urban heritage through storytelling, measurements and hands-on activities, leaving stimulating comments, drawings and even pieces of poetry.
The project, that will be extended in 2020, was dedicated to the inspiring figure of late prof. Vito Francesco Polcaro, a former SIA member.

The rock artifact, locally named Pulpito del Re, is llocated inside the natural park of Bosco della Ficuzza (Sicily). It is composed of a rocky outcrop, where a staircase is carved out and leads to a semi-circle, which represents a sort of podium with a flat basis, surronded by seats  with back, also carved into the rock. A rocky pinnacle has been left at the center of the podium and a hole has been pierced exactly in the front of it. The orientation of the staircase is exactly oriented to the local meridian. The line connecting the central pinnacle and the hole has been pierced exactly oriented to the local meridian. The line connecting the central pinnacle and the hole on the podium to a second rocky outcrop placed at 10.5 m in front of the Pulpit, where a V shapedviewfinder is carved, is directed toward the summer solstice sunrise. This fact generates an astonishing ierophany at the dawn of summer solstice.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the choice of the axis directions of the early Christian and medieval churches of Rome was determined by random reasons only or, instead, by the intention of obtaining a specific direction, as the studies related to the churches of this period, in other geographical contexts, seem to indicate. A first phase of the survey consisted in compiling a list of all the churches still existing in Rome and built between the beginning of the 4th century and the end of the 13th century. Our research produced a total of 92 churches: geographic coordinates and azimuth were measured using satellite images from Google Earth. In cases where the original arrangement of the parts was not evident, inspections in situ and checks from the plants reported in the literature concerning the considered church were carried out. From this analysis, two distinct distributions of the azimuth of the ancient churches of Rome are clearly distinguished: one with azimuth from 30° to 150°, the other from 210° to 360°. Seven churches only, which is the 8% of the population, have in fact an azimuth value consistent with the meridian. Furthermore, statistically significant peaks are observed around 90°, 120°, 240°, 270°, which are directions with an evident astronomical significance. Obviously, the existence of two populations with a substantially opposite orientation, suggested by the statistics, must find its justification in hypotheses based on other objective elements: the first hypothesis that can be advanced is a paradigm shift with the passing of the centuries. Wanting to verify if this hypothesis has a foundation, the considered churches were analyzed by subdividing them by century of construction. From this analysis, it is clear that in the construction of the oldest churches the most established tendency is to orient the axis with the entrance towards East and the apse towards West, even if the opposite orientation is noticeably frequent. In the following centuries there is a settling phase in which all the orientations have more or less the same importance. From the ninth century onwards the habit of orientating the buildings of worship 296 The orientation of the early Christian and medieval churches of Rome with the apse towards East and the entrance towards West was definitively affirmed. This work will present the possible historical motivations of this evolution.

The Mezora cromlech, located in northern Morocco, has been the object of
our studies for the last three years. It concerns an excavated site studied for almost two
centuries in the traditional Archaeology manner. A series of expeditions which took
place mention this site since 1829. It was excavated several times, sometimes in the
midst of complicated war-political events, and almost always without the appropriate
archaeological elements or the idea of landscape/cultural archaeology or
Archaeoastronomy.
Throughout our work and studies, we have come researched by means of abundant
bibliography in this regard, and our studies and opinions coincide with the ideas of one
of the most prolific writers about Mezora, Enrique Gonzalbes Gravioto. Gravioto
believes that in recent years there have been no new studies, and that there are no
complete studies based on history, sociology and geomorphology.
Our intention is to carry out a multidisciplinary study of the megalithic group, in all
aspects that made it functional throughout its history. Not only we will carry out a
thorough study of the existing bibliography but our work will expose the first result of
our campaign to the North of Morocco, in order to place Mezora geographically,
sociologically and historically in the set of Mediterranean megalithic monuments. We
will present our observations virtually at the Third International Symposium of
Megalithic Monuments and cults in Blagoevgrad, in September 2020.
The first part of our studies leads us to the presentation of a work concerning various
Archaeo-Astronomy aspects of the set. Our current work will try to make sense of the
succession of functions with which the people of the area used it: Burial site, temple
for solar worship, and the possibilities of its use in the form of other sacred aspects,
meeting point, mark of political boundaries and finally part of the prehistoric social
mobility and commerce system in North Africa.
We took a bibliographic tour starting from the first time the site was mentioned by the
Roman writers Plutarch and Tanusio Gemino, due to the description of the site by the
Roman general Sertorio (year 81 BC) in the context of civil wars and mentions of the
Mauritanian King Iuba II. We will see the location of the site in the Peutigerian Tabula
and how its privileged location leads to the conclusion that not only does an ancient
tomb exist but the complete set exists as well. We will explore the subsequent silence
in the writings of Pliny and Solino and of the medieval travellers and arrive to the final
explorations.
Finally we will take a field research of the site surroundings and old known routes in
order to understand and discover new architectural and functional relationships, in this
exciting archaeological and cult site of North Africa.