Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house located in Cervières, in the Hautes-Alpes, dates from the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. It is distinguished by its sundial, executed in 1839 on its façade by Piedmontese painter Giovanni Francesco Zarbula. This dial, painted on lime coating with natural pigments, is a typical example of the works of Zarbula, known for its precise and decorated works in the French and Italian Alps. The building, modest in appearance, illustrates the local craftsmanship and transalpine cultural exchanges of the period.

Giovanni Francesco Zarbula (or Zerbolla), native of Piedmont, made between 1833 and 1881 a hundred sundials in the Alps, mainly in Briançonnais, Queyras and the Ubaye valley. His works, often installed on rural houses, are characterized by their accuracy (just five minutes away) and their fresco decoration, including geometrical trompe-l'oeil motifs and symbols such as suns or monograms. The Cervières dial, attributed to Zarbula, was classified as a Historic Monument by order of 27 June 1996, highlighting its heritage value.

The technique used by Zarbula for its declining vertical dials was optimized for a latitude of 45°, which explains their concentration between 44°23 His achievements, signed with his initials, were often accompanied by currencies. In the Hautes-Alpes, seven of its dials are now protected, including that of Cervières, a witness to the artistic and scientific heritage of the region. The house, although simple, thus embodies a heritage that is both vernacular and scholarly, linked to the Alpine know-how of the 19th century.

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