The Eyes of Milazzo
Among the
most fascinating, and at the same time mysterious, artefacts from the castle of
Milazzo are the Eyes of Milazzo.
Although ancient documents reveal next to nothing as far as an explanation is
concerned, one interpretation from 1720 has it that the two large eyes made
from lava stone blocks indicated the weakest point of the fortress. Another
interpretation, however, seems more likely. The Eyes could, in fact, be a pair of solar quadrants or dials used
above all to indicate the seasons and the passing of time in medieval Milazzo.
An astronomical instrument used for the management of agricultural cultivations.
Both
quadrants, one facing North-East and the other South-East, have a semi-spherical
“pupil” about 30 centimetres in diameter. During the daylight hours these
semi-spheres work like the gnomon of a sundial, projecting a variable conical shadow
according to the height of the sun.
Both the Eyes of Milazzo can be seen
illuminated by the sun in a photo taken in Summer. In particular the right eye
shows the eyelid semi-closed thanks to the shadow projected by the blocks of
lava stone on the upper part of the ellipse.
The semi-sphere (“pupil”) also projects its own shadow towards the lower
part of the ellipse.
By studying the two eyes periodically in different seasons and at different times, the scholar Carmelo Fulco - also with the use of a purposely built model - showed that the North-East facing quadrant was only illuminated at certain times of the year while the South-East facing quadrant was illuminated throughout the year. Furthermore, while the North-East facing quadrant begins to be illuminated during the Summer solstice, only the South-East facing quadrant is illuminated in the Winter months. In Summer both eye quadrants are illuminated by the sun, even though only the North-East pupil now projects its conical shadow. The other semi-sphere was damaged in the Second World War.
Another part
that casts a shadow is the “eyelid”, that is the upper portion of the ellipse
in lava stone, a few centimetres higher than the internal part of the eye. This
allows the single blocks of lava stone of the ellipse to project their own
shadows towards the pupil until they almost close the eye.
Despite these
interpretations and this research, some mystery certainly still remains. Perhaps
some answers could come from medieval Islam since it is well known how deeply
rooted Islamic culture was in Sicily at the time of the Normans.
This 16th-century manuscript shows astronomers lining up various parts of the armillary sphere with specific stars so that they could produce flat charts of the heavens which were then plotted and made into astrolabes. These would then guide people, using the stars. The central pendulum is used here to trace the trajectories of the stars and planets on the flat ground so as to create these charts.
Plano de la Plaza y Castillo de Melazzo, nearly 1740. Number 38: «Altura que domina la Plaza por la parte de la puerta del Cavo nomada los oyos de Melazo»
