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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house in Villard-Late, in the commune of Saint-Chaffrey (Hautes-Alpes), houses a sundial made by Giovanni Francesco Zarbula, a 19th century Piedmontese dial painter. This monument is part of a series of about one hundred sundials executed between 1833 and 1881 in the French and Italian Alps, notably in Briançonnais, Queyras and the Ubaye Valley. These works, often installed on rural houses, are distinguished by their technical precision and fresco decoration, including geometrical motifs and symbols such as suns or moons.

Giovanni Francesco Zarbula, whose life remains poorly known, has developed a design method adapted to a latitude of 45°, which limits the distribution of his dials to a precise geographical area, between Barcelonnette and Valloire. His achievements, signed with his initials, are often accompanied by currencies. The dial of the house of Villard-Late, protected as a historical monument since 1995, illustrates this artistic and scientific tradition, characteristic of the alpine regions isolated in the 19th century.

Of the hundred dials created by Zarbula, about fifty remain today, seven of which are classified as historical monuments in the Hautes-Alpes. Villard-Late, located on the south façade of the house, bears witness to the cultural and technical heritage of this travelling artist, whose works still mark the architectural landscape of the Alps. The house, located at 27 rue des Trois-Fontaines in Saint-Chaffrey, offers a representative example of these rural sundials, both astronomical tools and works of art.

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