The Borghesi Astronomical Clock in the Museum of History and Technology: Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Paper 35Bedini, Silvio A.
History
The Borghesi Astronomical Clock in the Museum of History and Technology: Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Paper 35
Bedini, Silvio A.
Astronomical clocks
In spite of Bertolla's protests, Father Borghesi prevailed, reviving his
friend's interest once more until the two were deep in the project
again. Months passed as they worked together on the mechanism and it
seemed as if they lived for no other purpose. Inevitably, Bertolla's
health began to suffer, undermined as it was by the constant nervous
tension, and he eventually became ill from mental strain. He was forced
to spend some time in bed, and for many weeks the subject of the clock
was not discussed. Bertolla's other work, by which he made his living,
suffered and it was several months before he was able to return to his
little shop.
One year passed into another and the work progressed slowly. The first
clock, which easily should have been finished in less than a year, was
not completed until after three full years had passed. However, when the
priest and the clockmaker put the finishing touches to their great
clock, the result surpassed the greatest possible expectations, for it
was truly a masterpiece. Not only did it illustrate the ecliptic
phenomena of the moon, the sun and earth occurring in their proper time,
as well as many other things, but it showed these operations as they
succeeded in proper order, taking place through the centuries.
With mutual feelings of great pride, the two friends surveyed the result
of their three years of endeavor. Bertolla realized that he had reached
a point of maximum achievement in his work. He probably felt that now he
could relax again, that his sleep would no longer be troubled by
confused nightmares of wheels and gears that did not mesh together. Time
was to prove otherwise.
PUBLISHED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST CLOCK
Father Borghesi soon came to the conclusion that it would be desirable
to have a written description to explain the mechanism of the clock and
its many indicators. He thereupon wrote out the story of how the clock
was made, the reasons for embarking on the enterprise, the difficulties
he had encountered, and the success which had crowned his and Bertolla's
mutual labors. Finally, he described the operation of the clock's
mechanism and the functions of its array of indicators.
The little book was written in Latin and only a few copies were printed,
presumably at the priest's own expense, on a handpress by Giovanni
Battista Monauni, printer to the Bishop in Trent. The little volume was
stated by contemporary writers to have been published in 1763, although
no date appears on the title page. The title translated is, in part,
_The Most Recent, Perpetual Astronomical Calendar Clock,
Theoretical--Practical...._ The work begins with an introduction for the
reader in which Father Borghesi stated that:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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