Students from Dubrovnik had restored the clock and the city bell, ‘Sun’ and ‘Octopus’ – city monuments from the 18th century. Their work will be presented to public on the Night of the Museum
in the Rector’s Palace, where it will remain exposed as part of the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Cultural history. Furthermore, they will exhibit all parts of the original inventory of the church tower, except for the bell, which is still being ringed by replicas of Maro and Baro.
The restoration of the clock mechanism from the 1781 has been done by a self-taught monk Paska Baletin, and that was actually the last phase in the restoration of all parts, except for the
bells which were used on the city bell tower in Dubrovnik.
‘We all know about the restoration of ‘Zelenac’. However, many were unaware that the original inventory of the clock, which was located in the city bell tower in Dubrovnik, had two more parts. When the clock was repaired, in the early 20th century, another two parts – ‘Sun’ and the clock mechanism, were taken down and replaced by a new, modern mechanism, developed by the Italian company Fratelli Sollari from Pesarrii near Udine. After the restoration of the bell tower, this same company again replaced the clockwork in 1928’, explained Renata Andjus, restorer, and supervisor of students at the Department of Art and Restoration of University of Dubrovnik.
The restoration of the clock mechanism lasted for six months. However, preparations for the restoration required one more additional year.
‘It was a very demanding work in which they had to dismantle the whole mechanism, remove the color, move the rust and then protect and re-assemble the mechanism. But we were happy when we started the mechanism and saw that it actually works’ proudly concluded Ms. Andjus.
The clock mechanism from the church tower was removed in 1886 and a new one was purchased. The first one was thrown to the landfill metal near the sea. With a strong commitment and money support of Ivo Saracho it was restored and given to Native/Homeland Museum of Dubrovnik, the forerunners of the Dubrovnik Museums. Museum also got ‘Zelenci’, after their removal from the tower in 1906, as well as the ‘Sun’. All these
elements were once placed in a niche on the ground floor of the Sponza Palace, where they were transferred to after the systematic restoration had begun. During the Night of the Museums, Renata Andjus the master restorer of Dubrovnik Museums and Ana Stolar, a student of the University of Dubrovnik will hold a lecture about their work.
