Pillar – Haiku 2022 #ThursdayDoors

Posted bySuzette BenjaminPosted inPoetry
Bronze central doors, Duomo Di Milano, Lombardy, Italy. Image credit: © Greg Balfour Evans | Alamy 

pinpointing Source

time makes its mark with

a pillar of light

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Decked out in white marble with ombre hues and built atop the ruins of a Celtic Church, stands the third (some say second) largest Catholic Church in the world —Duomo Di Milano Basilica (Milan Cathedral.)

Completed in stages over six centuries the partial Duomo Di Milano Basilica was consecrated in 1418 when only the nave had been completed 32 years after construction began.

The largest of the five sets of bronze doors on Duomo Di Milano Basilica‘s facade (shown above) features significant moments in the life of Saint Mary Nascent, to whom this basilica is dedicated. The doors were installed in 1908 (see close up below.)

Central Bronze Doors Duomo Di Milano – Photo by Flavio Amiel | Unsplash

The edict switching timekeeping from Medieval Time to French Time circa 1786 necessitated the construction of several astronomical tools in the Duomo di Milano.

These tools were aids to accurately determine the sun at its highest point during the day (solar noon).

When the sun reached solar noon, sunlight would shine through a precise hole in the Duomo di Milano’s roof down onto the center of the bronze line installed along the entire width of the nave floor (see below).

A designated observer would then signal another official who would signal the Castle.

The Castle would immediately fire the noonday cannon, at which sound city residents would set/ check their clocks.

Sun enters at solar noon – Duomo Di Milano sundial on floor – Image credit duomomilano.it

Trivia: When original construction began on Duomo Di Milano in 1386, the then Duke of Milan, with great foresight, founded the “Venerable Duomo Factory” which is still active today. The Venerable Duomo Factory’s mission is the perpetual upkeep of the Duomo di Milano Basilica.

In 1930 a law was passed that prohibited any building in Milan to exceed the Duomo Di Milano Basilica’s highest point.

Wider angles of Duomo Di Milano Basilica below–

Duomo Di Milano Basilica Image credit: Jakub Halun | Wikimedia CC 4.0
Duomo Di Milano Basilica – Image Credit: Photo by Ouael Ben Salah | Unsplash

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For #ThursdayDoors – hosted by Dan Antion – No Facilities

Published by Suzette Benjamin

Positive thinker, inspirational, writer, faith

62 thoughts on “Pillar – Haiku 2022 #ThursdayDoors”

  3. Pingback: Pillar – Haiku 2022 #ThursdayDoors – The best for me

  6. What a gorgeous image of the solar sun, a brilliant pillar of light.
    Amazing engineering

    Beautiful chapter, pinponting the doors for Thursday.
    The factory to oversee the construction and maintenance of this majestic cathedral speaks of great planning and foresight from men and women who lived centuries ago.
    Handing over the baton over hundreds of years. Innovative thinking on another level.

    ♡The Castle would immediately fire the noonday cannon, at which sound city residents would set/ check their clocks.♡

    I know this feeling all to well. Our noon day canon was however controlled by the South African Navy

    Such a beautiful haiku, technically and poetically on point
    I had to hold my heart for a moment.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. Amazing engineering is right. I can’t even fathom, how long it took and how much effort to find the exact spot on the roof to create the aperture for the sun; …brilliant!

      Yes, you always capture/discern the key points!! The factory as you say so well, is innovative thinking and foresight planning a legacy…on another level of care and respect. They wanted to continue for centuries to give the city the best quality Cathedral…and it is working!!

      Oh, bless you, I could not imagine listening for big sound to adjust clocks. I am spoiled with the trappings of automatic clocks and atomic clocks….sigh

      Thank you as always for your wonderful support. Much appreciated.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up on this chapter of Thursday doors.

        Yes, truly and apparently the church was constructed over 6 centuries.
        Generation after Generation involved, offering their talents and skills, building capacity over centuries. It’s mind-blowing, no wonder the artistic creativity coupled with scientific innovation played such a key role in these regions of the world.
        A Native American once said that the mind of God resides there.
        It’s actually quite disappointing when the mind, heart, spirit and soul come together all in one corner of the world, that there is so much conflict and even violence.

        I digress Poet, enjoy your Thursday

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Duomo Di Milano Basilica is amazing for so many reasons, not the least of which is enduring construction for 600 years. I love your poem and the importance of timekeeping that it points to (no pun intended). Such clever people to figure out a method to set clocks with relative precision. Thanks for sharing this post, Suzette.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It is a stunning basilica. It is grand and majestic all in one. I quite like the unintended pun…thank you Dan.
      It is amazing how resourceful they were with the limited science they had at hand to come up with such ingenuity…but, I guess that is how the mind words at its best; that is, when necessity strikes (no pun intended).

      Thank you Dan, for hosting ThursdayDoors amid your very busy schedule. Much appreciated.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Wow, Suzette. I really enjoyed your Haiku and post and felt quite inspired. I love visiting places on Google Earth and I’ll go and check it out. It’s absolutely incredible.
    Best wishes,
    Rowena
    PS Doesn’t Milan Cathedral make a mindblowing contrast the the tiny homes?!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. If you love visiting places virtually, then the Duomo de Milano has a very popular live webcam. You can google it if you would like.

      Yes, hahaha, tiny homes are a mindblowingly epic contrast to Duomo di Milano ohoowwee 👍

      Like

  11. Wow. Amazing haiku. These doors are gorgeous, but that third picture (Sun enters at solar noon – Duomo Di Milano sundial on floor – Image credit duomomilano.it), truly stood out for me. So beautiful . Thanks for sharing .💕

    Liked by 1 person

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