Torre dell'Orologio, Venice

The Torre dell'Orologio stands on the north side of St Mark's Square in Venice, a Renaissance clock tower completed at the end of the fifteenth century. Its elaborate astronomical clock shows the hours, the phases of the moon and the signs of the zodiac in blue and gold enamel. At the top two bronze figures, known as the Moors, strike a great bell on the hour with hammers. Guided tours climb through the working mechanism to a terrace beside the bell, looking directly across the square to the basilica.