Giovanni Padovani (or Paduani) (b. c. 1512) was an Italian

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

. He lived in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

and was a student of Pietro Pitati. He published a number of esteemed treatises on various astronomical and mathematical subjects, the most well-known of which was a treatise on the sundial called ''Opus de compositione et usu multiformium horologiorum solarium, pro diversis mundi regionibus, idq(ue) ubique locorum tam in superficie plana horizontali quam murali quoruscumqu(ue) exposita sit, pertractans'' (

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, 1570). An expanded and re-written version came out in 1582. This manual includes instructions for the manufacture and laying out of mural (vertical) and horizontal sundials; contains extensive tables of declinations for various

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

s with both occidental and oriental examples; and provides instructions for the calculation of latitudes. This last section includes a description of a sundial calibrated for the measurement of unequal hours, such as those used in the ecclesiastic calendar, which foresaw twelve hours of light and twelve of dark, which was subject to severe seasonal variations.

Sources

Papyrus Rare Books

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padovani, Giovanni 16th-century Italian astronomers 16th-century Italian mathematicians 1512 births Year of death missing