Hidden away in a courtyard in the heart of the city is something rather special. The Palazzo Muto-Berardi-Cesi, which lies on Via del Gesu, is home to one of Rome's two water-clocks. The water-clock, which dates back to 1882, is the centrepiece of a charming Baroque fountain. A water-clock (also known as a clepsydra, a Greek word meaning water-thief) refers to any hydro-chronometer in which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into, or out of, a container. Rome's other (and slightly older) water-clock can be found on the Pincio, where it has stood since 1873. It was built six years earlier, in 1867, by Giovanni Battista Embriaco (1829-1903), a Dominican friar, who had a penchant for timepieces. Comments are closed.
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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private walking tours of Rome.
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