Archive for November, 2009
That may be true, but the Island of Malta is sure a beauty. Our cruise ship has docked in Valletta, and immediately I am made aware of a Maltese clock maker and inventor who was born in Mqabba (Micabba), a small village in the south of Malta. Michelangelo Sapiano (March 19, 1826 – December 2, 1912).
Although Sapiano was born in Mqabba, he went to live in Luqa when he was 21 years of age after he married a girl from Luqa. When he was 14 years of age he opened a watch repair shop and at such a young age he managed to repair the clock found in the Parish Church of Mqabba when other clock makers couldn’t. This paved the way for him to become famous and gave him the courage to start making clocks.
He is most famous for large clocks which were made for churches, convents and sacristies in various towns and villages in Malta and Gozo and also for a large clock he made for the Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Egypt.
His masterpiece is a grandfather clock which till a few years ago could be found in No.11, Pawlu Magri Street, Luqa, the house (which still exists) where Michelangelo Sapiano used to live after he married. The clock can now be found in the Mdina Cathedral Museum. For this clock he was awarded a silver medal in an Industrial Exhibition which was held in 1864. Apart from showing the time, days and date this clock also shows the moonphases and the time in which the sun rises and goes down. This clock also has a mechanism which marks when a year is a leap year.
Off to Italy in the morning.
Simple Pleasures of Manually Wound Clocks
Eight-day clocks are unique in that they should be wound on a weekly basis in order to tell proper time. A one-day grace period is built into the design of the clock, meaning that your clock won’t stop if you forget to wind it one day. While some people would look at the process of winding a clock as an unnecessary inconvenience, others prefer this organic experience rather than simply “trusting” a digital clock to tell time.
There’s something reassuring about doing the job yourself and knowing that you have made a direct impact on the mechanical workings of the clock. Depending on the model of the clock, you’ll need to insert a key into a hole and turn it to begin the winding. It’s easy enough to tell if you’re attempting to wind 8 day cuckoo clocks in the wrong direction – the key simply won’t budge.
Longcase Grandfather Clocks
Clock Towers have stood the test of time. At the University of Barcelona (Officially in Universitat de Barcelona), the clock and the iron bell housed in the tower in the Pati de Lletres— the “Patio of thr Arts”— were installed in 1881. The architectural work and the quality of the building’s works of art meant that the historic building was declared a national monument of historic and artistic interest in 1970.
The clock in Barcelona reminds me of one type of Longcase grandfather clock : Comtoise clocks, also known as Morbier clocks or Morez clocks, made in the French region Franche-Comté (whence their name). Production of these clocks began in 1680 and continued for a period of about 230 years. During the peak production years (1850-1890) over 60,000 clocks were made each year. Features distinguishing this style are a curving “potbellied” case and a greater use of curved lines. Often a heavy, elongated, highly ornamented pendulum bob extends up the case.
Many Comtoise clocks can be found in France, but they are also frequently found in Spain, Germany, and other parts of Europe, less in the USA. These clocks were very popular across the generations; they kept the time on farms throughout France. Many Comtoise clocks were also exported to other countries in Europe and even further, to the Ottoman Empire and as far as Thailand. The metal mechanism was usually protected by a wooden sheath.
Next stop, Malta