Campanile di San Marco

ST. MARK'S CAMPANILE

 

The Campanile di San Marco, or Belltower of St. Mark's, has stood for more than a thousand years--or for less than a century, depending on how you define "truth in advertising."

 

The present-day structure was built in 1912 as an exact replica of its predecessor, which collapsed unexpectly on the morning of July 14, 1902.

 

Some Venetians claimed that St. Mark's Square looked better without the tower, and others thought it was foolish to spend taxpayers' money on a replacement. In the end, donations from outside Venice covered most of the expense, and a rebuilt Campanile was christened on April 25, 1912--exactly 1,000 years after the foundations of the original structure had been laid, according to historians of the time.

 

Some Venetians claimed that St. Mark's Square looked better without the tower, and others thought it was foolish to spend taxpayers' money on a replacement. In the end, donations from outside Venice covered most of the expense, and a rebuilt Campanile was christened on April 25, 1912--exactly 1,000 years after the foundations of the original structure had been laid, according to historians of the time.

 

Source: Campanile di San Marco

 

Venice, Italy

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