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The Campanile di San Marco
The Campanile di San Marco © Wai Heng Chow - FOTOLIA The Campanile di San Marco dominates the Piazza San Marco and dwarfs the adjacent domed Basilica. The Campanile di San Marco is 325 feet high and the tallest building in Venice. Its observation platform provides panoramic views of Venice, the Venetian Lagoon and the surrounding countryside. The Italian Alps, some forty miles to the north, are visible on a clear day. The first tower was constructed on this site in the 8th century. It was a fortified turret which kept watch over the neighbouring docks. It was replaced in 1173 by another tower which incorporated the bells of Saint Marks and a beacon to assist navigation throughout the Lagoon. Traitors were occasionally hanged in cages from its summit. The campanile assumed its present appearance in 1514 after the completion of extensive reconstruction work. Thereafter, it remained virtually unaltered until it suddenly collapsed on 14 July 1902. Funds for its restoration were quickly raised by public subscription and the present campanile, identical to its predecessor, was completed in time for the opening ceremony on 25 April 1912, the “Feast of St Marks”. The brick shaft of the campanile supports an observation platform beneath an upper chamber containing the five bells of St Marks. A weather vane moulded in the shape of a gilded angel tops the spire. The tower is entered though a charming loggetta, an exact reproduction of the original designed by Jacopo Sansovino in 1549.
The Logetta designed by Sansovino, formerly used as a barracks for the Doge's bodyguard. Photo by Maria Schnitzmeier 20.07.05. Image published under GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.
The view eastwards from the platform of the Campanile © Massimiliano Pieraccini - FOTOLIA An internal lift operates to the viewing galleries on each side of the tower, and visitors no longer have to climb the narrow winding stairway. Galileo tested his telescope from the viewing platform of the original tower. He secured the patronage of Doge Leonardo Dona by identifying strategically placed markers which were not visible with the naked eye.
The San Marco Column © Jarno Gonzalez - FOTOLIA Two other impressively tall structures, the columns of San Marco and San Teodoro, are located nearby in the piazetta, the smaller square located between the Doge's Palace and the Libereria Marciana. The engineer Nicolo Barattieri brought both columns from Constantinople in 1173, and crowned each with a traditional Venetian emblem. The winged lion on the San Marco column is the emblem of the Apostle Mark, who became the Patron Saint of Venice after his relics were brought to the city in 828 AD. San Teodoro, whose marble statue tops the second column, was the city's previous Patron Saint. The columns stand on the site of Venice's former gallows and it is considered bad luck to walk between them. © 2006 LACT Limited. All rights reserved. Arsenale Rialto Bridge Satellite Pictures Campo di San Polo Campo dei Mori Riva degli Schiavoni Zattere Customs House Torre dell'Orologio Jewish Ghetto Campanile Giardini
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