Church
Basilica di San Petronio
Soaring Gothic basilica with an unfinished brick facade and a centuries-old astronomical sundial.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the basilica in Bologna follows Gian Domenico Cassini, the young astronomer who talked the church into building the world's longest indoor sundial through its Gothic nave in the sixteen fifties. It traces why a beam of sunlight through a hole in the ceiling mattered enough to risk trouble with Rome, and how the basilica around it carries its own centuries-old story of being cut down to size. Best heard standing over the brass line at midday, watching for the light.
This audio guide was created using AI.