Torre dell'Orologio (Clock Tower), Venice (must see)

In a square crowded with Venice’s greatest hits, this Clock Tower still manages to stand out. Its base has long doubled as a meeting spot, not by accident but geography: this is where the Merceria begins, the ancient commercial artery that has been funneling people toward and away from St. Mark’s Square for centuries. Today, the flow continues—only now it passes luxury shop windows and souvenir stalls instead of spice merchants and silk traders...

The clock above has been keeping official Venetian time since 1858, and it does more than just count the hours. This is a clock with cosmic ambitions. Alongside the time, it tracks the movement of the sun through the zodiac, neatly folding astronomy and astrology into daily life—because in Venice, even punctuality comes with symbolism...

Look closer at the decoration, and the city’s identity unfolds. Set against a deep blue field scattered with golden stars, the winged lion of Saint Mark spreads its wings above the dial, a reminder of Venice’s patron saint and former republic. Just below, the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus look down toward the square, adding a quiet note of devotion to a space once dominated by state ceremony and public spectacle.

Then, there are two more figures perched at the very top, striking the bell with impressive dedication. Cast in bronze and originally imagined as shepherds, time has darkened their surface so completely that Venetians eventually gave them a new name: the “Moors.” They have been hammering out the hours up there for hundreds of years, unfazed by crowds, pigeons, or changing fashions below...

For those tempted to go inside, the tower can be visited by reservation. Small guided groups move through the inner workings of the mechanism, past hidden passages and unexpected details, before reaching the upper levels. From there, the reward is a direct view down onto St. Mark’s Square—a reminder that in Venice, even time itself was designed to put on a show...