Zodiac Wheel

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The wheel of the zodiac from the opus sectile pavement
San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain)
Viale dei Colli
Florence, April 2014

“Opus sectile is an art technique popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The materials were cut in thin pieces, polished, then trimmed further according to a chosen pattern. Unlike tessellated mosaic techniques, where the placement of very small uniformly sized pieces forms a picture, opus sectile pieces are much larger and can be shaped to define large parts of the design.” (Opus sectile, Wikipedia)

See also: San Miniato al Monte - Inside San Miniato