St Mark's Campanile, Venice

Campanile of St Mark's Basilica
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Campanile_San_Marco.jpg
Author: Aph-ch


St Mark's Campanile, or Campanile di San Marco, is the bell tower of St. Mark's Basilica. It is a standalone tower located across St Mark's Square from the basilica.

St Mark's Campanile stands 98.6 meters (323 ft) tall. It has a fluted brick square shaft, the base of which is 12m (39ft) wide on each side. This rises to 50 meters (160 ft) to support a loggia surrounding a belfry with five bells. Above that is a cube with the Lion of St. Mark and the female representation of Venice embellished on alternate faces. Over that is a pyramidal spire, and at the top is a golden weathervane in the shape of the Archangel Gabriel.

The campanile as appearing today is based of the previous one constructed in 1514. It collapsed in 1902 and the one standing today was built in the same form in 1912.

The foundation of the Campanile dates back to the 9th century. It was started during the reign of Pietro Tribuno. The bell tower doubled as a watch tower for the dock. Construction of the early campanile was completed in the 12th century. At the base of the campanile were barracks for the doge's guards.

The early campanile suffered from a fire which broke out in 1489, destroying its wooden spire. Subsequent restoration work and repairs brought it to its present appearance in the 16th century.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.