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Hidden corners

The Twenty-Four-Hour Clock

The twenty-four-hour dial: the two 12s at top and bottom, the Arabic numerals and the sun’s longest ray acting as the hand
The twenty-four-hour dial: the two 12s at top and bottom, the Arabic numerals and the sun’s longest ray acting as the hand Photo: gnuckx, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

The dial of Santi Apostoli tells you how many hours of daylight are left. To understand it you have to forget the clock on your phone and go back to how time was counted in Venice. For centuries, in Venice, the day was counted from sunset: when the sun went down the clock showed 24, and straight after it began again from 1. Later the start was moved to half an hour after sunset, when the bells rang the Ave Maria.

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