Armillary Sphere
Hanging from the ceiling above the centre of the dining room at La Meridiana is the armillary sphere. The ancient Greek astronomers working in Egypt believed the sun went round the earth and this belief persisted until...
How it all began
I first visited the village of Oliveto before I married Arabella over 45 years ago, and have returned regularly ever since. The idea of building a giant sundial there came to me on one of these early visits for at the...
History of Oliveto
The village of Oliveto is recorded in an 11th century document in the archive of the Monastery at Farfa, and Palazzo Parisi dates as a castle from the 15th century with many later alterations and additions. In the late...
La Meridiana Sundial
Click here to read the Making of La Meridiana Sundial by Mark Lennox Boyd
The Gardens
By Arabella Lennox-Boyd: I spent most of my childhood in the village of Oliveto. This is where I formed a love for wildflowers and on our visits to Rome a fascination with the scale and beauty of the ancient monuments....
Olives & Passata
THE OLIVES La Meridiana is surrounded by its Olive estate of some 1500 trees. Ideally they should be ploughed, fertilised, pruned and picked every year, but the sad fact is the more olives you have the more money you...
Other Sundials
I have an expertise in designing sundials and have made a number which are notably different. Here are some of my best designs.The Tetracycle This is the photograph of a model of a dial of unique design. It has three...