Campanile di San Marco
"Whatsoever thou art...forget not to go to the top of St. Mark's tower before thou comest out of the citie." Thomas Coryat, 1612.
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Although there are numerous campanili (bell towers) in Venice, only one is known, simply, as Il Campanile. And that is the towering brick edifice in the Piazza San Marco, which started off life, in the 9th century, as a watch tower or lighthouse. Its transformation into a campanile didn't take place until the 12th century. However, in 1489 the tower was seriously damaged by a fire, which destroyed its wooden spire.
The bell tower, which is known locally as el parón de casa (the master of the house), only took on its present form in the early 16th century. The belfry is topped by a cube, whose alternate faces depict the lion of Saint Mark and the personification of justice (giustizia). The cube is capped by a pyramidal spire, at the top of which is a gilded statue of the Archangel Gabriel holding a lily. The 360-degree view from the top of the bell tower is breath-taking; on a clear day you can see as far as the Dolomites. There are no steps to climb, as an elevator whisks you all the way up to the top. On the morning of July 14th, 1902, cracks began to appear in the bell tower. The cracks rapidly widened and suddenly the tower buckled and crashed to the ground. It had stood in the piazza for almost one thousand years, one of the great landmarks of the city; suddenly it was nothing more than a large pile of rubble. The campanile had fallen, in the words of Venetians, 'like a gentleman', destroying nothing more than Sansovino's loggetta, which sat at its base, and the corner of the Biblioteca Marciana. The only fatality was the caretaker's cat, Melampyge, which was named after Casanova's little fox terrier. By some miracle, the marangona, the chief bell (of five) in the tower, survived the crash. During the days of the Republic, the marangona was rung at the start and end of the working day, while the nona was tolled at noon. The mezza terza was rung to call the senators to the Palazzo Ducale, the trottiera announced when the Great Council was in session and the maleficio signalled an execution. In the space of a single decade, the bell tower was rebuilt to its original design and height (99 meters/325 feet). The tallest structure in the city was officially re-opened on April 25th, 1912, exactly one thousand years after the foundations of the original tower had, it is thought, been laid. |
Campanile di San Marco
Archangel Gabriel, Campanile di San Marco
'Justice', Campanile di San Marco
The collapse of the campanile, 1902
The collapse of the campanile, 1902
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