Sundial at Augustinian Priory, Rabat Gozo, Malta
Posted by: 
arby101ca
N 36° 02.545 E 014° 14.219
33S E 431267 N 3988922
The historic sundial above the cloister of the Augustinian Priory (Convent) in Rabat (Victoria) Gozo has been recently restored. This dial is similar to the sundials in the Dominican Priory in Rabat, Malta.
Waymark Code: WM8FJ9
Location: Malta
Date Posted: 03/26/2010
Views: 3
The Augustine Priory dedicated to Santu Winstin in Rabat (Victoria) on the island of Gozo has a historical sundial similar to the sundials in the larger Dominican Priory in Rabat, Malta. The references on “Maltese Sundials” including Paul Micallef’s 1994 book and Sir Christopher Daniels article in “Antique Clocks” indicated the sundial to be in poor condition. This is no longer the case as the sundial has been restored within the last 10 years and is in excellent condition. Perhaps Paul Micallef had a hand in this restoration.
The sundial is on the south facing wall of the terrace around the cloister of the Priory. It is a very simple and stark design, just showing the hourly time lines. The declination is a bit east of south and there seems to be a longitude correction built in as the meridian is not vertical. It showed clock time 10:10 am when we visited on 20 March 2010.
The cloister of the priory is normally closed to casual visitors but when we came by for the second time, the door was open as the housekeeper was cleaning the floor. She forwarded my request to visit to Fr. Peter who was in the library. He welcomed us and told us some of the history of the Priory. The surviving records show the priory existed since the 1550’s. Earlier records were destroyed by the attacks by the Ottoman Moslems in 1551 when Gozo was sacked and over 1000 people taken as slaves. He did not know the date the original sundial was painted but it was probably before 1850. Nor did he know the precise date of the restoration, perhaps 10 years ago but he provided access to the cloister and the terrace to see the sundial. He said they welcome visitors. They are proud of their heritage as the Order of St Augustine and the Priory, or Convent to use his words. They welcome and provide accommodation for visitors seeking peace and spiritual renewal. It was a peaceful, spiritual place but we had a bus to catch at 10:30. So many sundials, so little time!
Sundial Type: Vertical - Wall mounted dial plate
Related Web Site: Not listed
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