About This Location
Torre dell’Orologio stands on the north side of Piazza San Marco, marking the entrance to the Mercerie - the main shopping route that has long linked Venice’s political center with its commercial heart near Rialto. It was built in the last years of the 1400s, designed to be seen not only from the square, but also from the lagoon, as a proud public sign of Venetian order and prosperity. The clock face is more than decoration. It is an astronomical dial: the outer ring tracks time through the day, while the larger moving ring shows the Zodiac and the months, and the inner disk displays the Moon and its phases. The design seen today is a simplified version of the original, but many of the Zodiac signs still date back to the first clock face. At the top, two bronze figures strike the bell every hour. They are known as “the Moors,” a nickname that comes from the dark patina of the metal. Look closely and it becomes clear they are not identical - one appears older, one younger, a simple reminder of time passing. The bell and the figures date to the late 1400s.