Marking the Meridian in Rome

Map

Bust of Angelo Secchi atop a pillar erected to mark the meridian in Rome

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Outside the Casina Valadier, on the Pincian Hill, stands a small pillar that was erected  by Father Angelo Secchi (1818-78), a Jesuit and astronomer, to mark the meridian in Rome. 

The pillar also bears a bust (the work of Giuseppe Prinzi) of Secchi, who spent most of his life working at the Observatory of the Roman College, which lies next to the Jesuit church of Sant' Ignazio, in the heart of the city.