The Clock in the Church

I have been meaning to write about this ever since I returned back to Cannes. Last weekend I traveled to Florence. It was an exhausting trip, full of good food, walking, being lost and confused, dancing, long bus rides, and lots of historical discovery.
One part of the trip, that hasn't left my mind since I saw it, was visiting The Duomo of Florence. Basically it's the really big church that the city was built around. The outside of the church is quite extravagent, but upon entering the large space is mostly plain and simple. The altar in the front of the church is special and has more statues and colors, overhead there is a large fresco depicting judgement day. Although not aimed for a comical effect, I thought the skeletons were funny.

This cathedral seemed like most cathedrals I have seen, large and awesome, but in the back of the church is a clock. Built in 1443, it still works to this day. There are 24 roman numberals, sunset is maked by 24, the four is iiii not iv, and it moves counterclockwise.

At first I just thought this clock was cool because it stood out against the plainness of the interior of the church, and is an historical wonder. But of corse, I thought more. It seemed funny to me to have a clock, a measure of time, in a church, a place of worship. But not as funny considered that the Duomo was not just a place of worship but a symbol of power. Does time matter when making the effort to be with God in a designated place on Earth? Regardless of that answer the clock shows how much power the Catholic church had. The Church was able to plan, design, and construct this time peice, and designated it as law. It was decided how the time should be measured- with 24 roman numerals, and that it was important to have this information available in the inside of the the church, and was constructed with the intentions of lasting longterm- of which it was a success in doing.

When I was gazing upon the clock, I thought about time in my own life. I have been in Cannes for 3 weeks- 3 very memorable week that I will work to relive in my mind forever. I also feel that no time has passed at all, which makes me think how fast June is going to come. This adds to my urgency of living every moment as much as possible. Taking this mindset with me, I definitely rocked Florence, and I know I will be talking about my experiences here for quite some time to come.

Il est important de dire l'évident.