St. Mark's Bell Tower

4.0(405 Ratings)

St. Mark's campanile is an imposing square-plan tower, about 99 meters high and crowned by a spire that was once a lighthouse for shipping. For the rest of the lagoon area, it is a prototype. First built in the 12th century on the site of perhaps a pre-existing watchtower, this tower is topped off by a rotating platform with a statue of the Archangel Gabriel. Of the 5 original bells, only the largest one currently remains. The others, which are now replaced, were destroyed when the tower collapsed in 1902.