St Mark's Clock is the clock housed in the Clocktower on the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy, adjoining the Procuratie Vecchie. The first clock housed in the tower was built and installed by Gian Paolo and Gian Carlo Rainieri, father and son, between 1496 and 1499, and was one of a number of large public astronomical clocks erected throughout Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries. The clock has had an eventful horological history, and been the subject of many restorations, some controversial.
After restorations in 1551 by Giuseppe Mazzoleni, and in 1615, by Giovanni Battista Santi, the clock mechanism was almost completely replaced in the 1750s, by Bartolomeo Ferracina. In 1858 the clock was restored by Luigi De Lucia. In 1996, a major restoration was undertaken by Giuseppe Brusa and Alberto Gorla.
The clock displays the original I to XXIIII numbering around the outside, with I at the right hand side. The gilded stars are purely decorative. The signs of the zodiac are in anticlockwise order around the inner zodiac dial: the zodiac wheel rotates clockwise with the hour hand but very slightly faster. As a result, the hour hand moves slowly anticlockwise relative to the zodiac, so that it passes through each sign in the course of the year.
Photographing the clock was an interesting interlude in our recent Italian holiday.
Credits: Text taken from Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment