ST. MARK'S, Clock Tower Interior

Did you know that you can also visit the inside of the clock tower? The path through the structure passes through five floors. You begin by going up a stone staircase leading to the first inner room, where the story of the Tower is told. From here, you can already see the clock's internal mechanism in action, but if you go up a spiral metal staircase, you can get even closer. Upstairs you find yourself face to face with the wooden statues of the Magi and the Angels, and you can see the gates up close that the statues exit from on their procession during the Epiphany and the Ascension. The rest of the year, these doors are replaced by two other metal doors that are decorated with golden geometric motifs and let viewers see the panels with the hours and minutes. Going up even higher, you'll reach a room that conserves the oldest parts of the original mechanism. From here you can go out onto the two side terraces and up another steep spiral staircase to the terrace of the Mori where, besides being able to almost shake the two giants' hands, you can admire a wonderful view of Venice and its lagoon.

FUN FACT: when the Clock Tower was built in 1499, the Three Magi and Angel with the trumpet had been designed to go on their procession every hour. But its keepers soon realized that the mechanism was too delicate and complex to work for very long, and wisely decided to drastically reduce the frequency of the Magi's procession. The current wooden statues of the Magis and the Angel date back to the mid-18th century.