Rome, the capital of watch making too!
Once again Rome was able to put on its best face and welcome the six-day show “Alta Orologeria a Roma”, promoted by the FHH, in cooperation with the Province of Rome and the magazine AD. The event was set in the noble Palazzo Incontro, a perfect example of eighteenth century Roman architecture.
Paolo Gobbi
Rome’s full entrance into the world history of watch making is associated to an interesting anecdote on the insomniac Pope Alexander VII Chigi, who lived back in the second half of the 17th century. He commissioned Campani monks, master watchmakers with a workshop in via Giulia, in the heart of the ancient city, to make a “silent” watch that did not make the classic ticking noise and that he could read at night thanks to a light ingeniously placed behind the face. Thus the notturlabi romani were born. With the interest for measuring time growing over the years, the array of monumental civil and religious clocks was slowly enriched by many private collections, brought to life and made operational by skilled and qualified master watchmakers. Large watch shops were to follow later, along with antique dealers, auction rooms and a range of small and large manufacturers now well- known throughout the world. All of this without ever ignoring the sense of disillusioned solidness that has made this city unique and in its own way peerless, even for its watches.
"The chronograph, the expression of the modern era"
Once again Rome was able to put on its best face and welcome the six-day show “Alta Orologeria a Roma”, promoted by the FHH Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, in cooperation with the Province of Rome and the magazine AD, which specialises in interior design but also features an interesting Speciale Orologi (Watches Special) section. 14 influential brands were on display (A. Lange & Sòhne, Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Girard Perregaux, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, JeanRichard, Montblanc, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Parmigiani Fleurier and Vacheron Constantin). Keeping the cultural tone of the event to a high standard was the show "The chronograph, the expression of the modern era" boasting 65 extraordinary pieces selected and chosen by Dominique Flechon, a historian specialised in High Quality Watch Making. The event was set in the noble Palazzo Incontro, a perfect example of eighteenth century Roman architecture. The palace is located on an important archaeological area preserving the very few findings of the horologium Augusti, the big solar time-keeping system desired by the emperor Augustus approximately 2000 years ago.
4,000 visitors
Everything, from places to people, was about watches in this week in Rome focusing on timekeepers. The real stars of the event, however, were undoubtedly the often very knowledgeable 4,000 visitors. Their curiosity, questions, satisfied smiles, dutiful search for catalogues really added to the event’s success. The show also provided several important distributors with the opportunity to invite their clients to the various theme evenings organised, dedicated to technical or historical issues on high quality watches, made even more interesting by the presence of characters like Giulio Papi, Prof. Ugo Pancani and the journalist Paola Pujia.
Finally, the event organisation deserves a mention: surviving Rome’s chaotic centre, dealing with all the problems of a historically beautiful building though not designed for exhibitions of such volume, carefully meeting the needs of the visitors and handling the heat of the famous “Roman Octobers” was a big job, for which we must thank all the people involved. It was all worthwhile when we saw the smiles of the people who finished the tour among the various stands.
A successful event that definitely deserves to be repeated next year. ■
