 Wind rose marker The ancient obelisk in St Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro) stands at the centre of a large wind-rose and sundial, which were added in 1817. The wind-rose (rosa dei venti) takes the form of 16 marble markers, which use the compass points to show the different wind directions. The eight winds are the: Tramontana (north), Greco (north-east), Levante (east), Scirocco (south-east), Ostro (south), Libeccio (south-west), Ponente (west), Maestro (north-west). The obelisk acts as the gnomon of the sundial, indicating midday and the two solstices, thanks to a granite meridian and marble markers embedded in the square.  Comments are closed.
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