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Torre dell'Orologio
The Clock Tower on Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy
Piazza San Marco
tel. +39-041-520-9070
Bookings: tel. 848-082-000 within Italy or +39-041-4273-0892 outside Italy
www.museiciviciveneziani.it
Vaporetto: San Zaccaria, San Marco-Giardinetti, or San Marco-Vallaresso
Tours in English: Mon–Wed at 10am and 11am; Thurs–Sun at 2pm and 3pm.
Sights nearby
*** St. Marks' Basilica (church)
*** Palazzo Ducale (palace)
*** Grand Canal (sight)
* Campanile di San Marco (bell tower)
Museo Civico Correr (museum)
Bacino Orseolo (gondola parking lot)
Where to eat nearby
Bistrot de Venise (meal)
Da Aciugheta (meal/pizza)
Osteria a la Campana (light meal)
Vino Vino (light meal)
Rosticceria Teatro Goldoni (light meal/snack)
Hotels nearby
***Hotel Danieli [splurge]**Hotel ai do Mori [moderate]**Hotel Violino d'Oro [moderate]» More hotels in San Marco from Venere.com
» More hotels in San Marco from Booking.com
ReidsItaly.com Venice Map
» View ENLARGED MAP with all listings
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» THE VENICE BOOKSHELF
The Torre dell'Orologio (Clock Tower) in Venice.This late 15th-century clock tower has a bell that chimes the hours with the help of two hammer-wielding statues standing on the very tip-top of the tower and known as the "Moors of Venice."
You would think there's some kind of great story behind that—a monument featuring medieval North African Muslims, here in Venice?—but you'd be wrong.
They're actually supposed to be your standard European shepherds, but centuries of outdoor life darkened to bronze figures to the point where, long ago, the Romantically-minded locals decided they looked more Moorish and gave them the nickname.
The Street of the Merchants
Duck under the clock tower and walk straight ahead and you'll be on the Mercerie, the shopping corridor of Venice for hundreds of years. ("Mercerie" means "merchants," and while the twisting and turning series of connected streets changes names frequently, the word "merceria" is always part of it.) It is still lined by shops and trinket boutiques—and some surprisingly good-value restaurants (like La Campana)—that lead to the Rialto Bridge.
Construction on the clock tower began in 1496 and by 1499 it had started keeping time. However, it has been restored many, many times: in 1551, 1615, 1750, 1858, and most recently from 1996 to 2006. (For more on that recent, controversial, and seemingly endless project: www.torreorologio.it).
One nice thing about the most recent restoration: you can now go inside the thing (see "'Tips" below).
Tips
- You can now actually take a tour of the Clock Tower's Renaissance gears only by booking in advance (tel. +39-041-520-9070 or www.museiciviciveneziani.it); nice views from up here, too.
- The admission ticket also gets you into the Museo Correr, plus the rather less interesting Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Archaeological Museum) and Sale Monumentali della Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (frescoed, monumental rooms of the Marciana Library). Note, however, that this is not the same combined admission ticket as the one that gets you into the Correr and the Palazzo Ducale plus those other. (I know: its confusing.)
Related pages
- The Campanile di San Marco (nearby bell tower of St Mark's)
- Piazza San Marco
- St. Mark's Basilica (next-door)
- The Doge's Palace (nearby)
- More sights in San Marco
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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.
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