One of the symbols of Piazza San Marco is the Torre dell’Orologio, known as dei Mori, famous for its gold and blue enamel clock, and is one of the most original buildings of early Renaissance Venetian architecture. Its large astronomical clock has been marking the passage of time in Venice for more than five hundred years.
The terraced top of the tower houses a bell and two giant bronze figures, called Moors for the dark patina of the metal, made in 1497. On each hour, the Moors in succession strike the hours. The one on the right, marked by the beard, is the old man and plays two minutes early, symbolizing the time that has passed. Il Moor on the left is the young man and replies two minutes later, marking the time that is yet to come.
The clock also has a special carousel mechanism that is activated only twice a year: on Epiphany Day, January 6, and on Ascension Day, usually in May. At the stroke of each hour, wooden figures of the Three Kings and an Angel with a trumpet come out from the second-floor loggia, parading in procession in front of the statue of the Madonna. A spectacle that once again thrills hundreds of onlookers, tourists and Venetians.
Website: www.torreorologio.visitmuve.it
Location: Torre dell’Orologio, Venice
