Torre dell'Orologio

Horas non numero nisi serenas (I only count happy hours). 
​The motto on the clock-face. 

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The north side of the Piazza San Marco is marked by the Torre dell'Orologio (Clock Tower), the work of Mauro Codussi, which dates back to the end of the 15th century. The tower lies on the axis that links the religious (Basilica San Marco) and political (Palazzo Ducale) heart of the city with its commercial and financial centre (Rialto). 

The clock-face bears the signs of the zodiac and at the very top stand the famous 'Moors', a pair of giant bronze bell-jacks, who have been striking the hours in the city for over five hundred years. The clock tower was placed so that it would be seen by visitors arriving by sea; it was yet another sign of the wealth and glory of Venice.

The storey below the bell-jacks sports the winged lion of Venice, his paw resting on an open book. Kneeling before him was once a statue of Doge Agostino Barbarigo, but this was removed when the Venetian Republic fell in 1797. Below the lion we see the Virgin and Child flanked by two large blue panels indicating the time in Roman numerals. 

The great, blue clock-face sits in a marble circle, which is engraved, in Roman numerals, with the twenty-four hours of the day. A golden pointer, marked with an image of the sun, moves round the circle marking the hours. The gilded signs of the zodiac also rotate to indicate the position of the sun in the constellations. In the centre of the clock-face sits the earth and the moon, which revolves slowly to indicate its different phases. There is a second, and simpler, clock-face overlooking the Merceria. 

There is no truth to the legend that the two clock-makers, Paolo and Carlo Ranieri, laboured away for three years only to have their eyes gouged out on completion of their work so as to prevent them from repeating their achievement for anyone else. On the contrary, the two craftsmen were handsomely rewarded with a state pension and their eyes were left intact. 

If you happen to be in Venice on either the Feast of Epiphany (January 6th) or the Feast of Ascension, you will witness the clock tower's star turn. On the hour, every hour, statues of the Three Magi, led by an angel flourishing a trumpet, troop out of the left door and march in procession around the gallery before disappearing through the other door. It all happens very quickly; blink and you will miss it! ​

Torre dell' Orologio

Clock Face

The Two 'Moors'

The Three Magi