St Mark's Clocktower (Venice, Italy) : The clock, close frontal view

Creator:

Codussi, Mauro, ca. 1440-1504

Published/Created:

Venice, Veneto, Italy
1496-1499

Date Depicted:

5/19/1996
500 AD - 1499 AD

Materials:

bronze
enamel
gilt
stone

Notes:

The building was designed by Mauro Codussi and constructed between 1496 and 1499. It has five bays, of which the central bay is the widest. This bay incorporates a two-storey gateway, with the large clock face above, topped by a single storey tower with a depiction of a Lion of St Mark against the night sky, while two blackened bronze figures intended as giants but known as the "Moors" stand on top and ring a bell on the hour. The clock mechanism, dating from 1499 and much restored since then, drives the main clock face, which consists of several concentric dials. The outermost displays the number 1 to 24 in Roman numerals, and a hand embellished with a depiction of the sun indicated the hour. The second dial depicts the twelve signs of the zodiac, picked out, like the inner dials, in gilt on an enamel blue background. The inner dials indicate the phases of the moon and sun. The mechanism also moves a display above the clockface, where a niche with a depiction of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus lies between two displays: the hour in Roman numerals and the minutes (in multiples of five) in Hindu-Arabic numerals. On Ascension Day, statues of the three kings pass in front of the displays. Terraces were added to the tower by Giorgio Massari in 1755, but it has otherwise been little altered. Major renovations have obscured the structure behind scaffolding for several years. Now though, this extraordinarily elaborate timepiece is on public show again, in full working order, and delighting visitors and Venetians alike, as it has done for more than 500 years.

Variant Titles:

Torre dell'Orologio

Topics:

Architecture -- Italy -- 15th century -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Renaissance

Culture:

Italian

Accession Number:

1A2-I-VE-TO-C2

Genre:

architecture (AAT)
clock towers (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

allegorical; animals; business, commerce and trade; New Testament; timekeeping; Zodiac; automata; automatons; mechanical; clock; clockworks carving ; casting ; construction built works; towers (single built works); clock towers clock The clock, made of g

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Module Three

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
5/19/1996

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4152

OID:

10158599

PID:

digcoll:1849272