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The campanile | Further information
Begun on pre-existing Roman foundations in the 9th century
and rebuilt several times between the 12th and 14th centuries,
the campanile took on its definitive appearance, after much restoration
and reworking, between 1511 and 1514.
It consists of a solid square brickwork frame with lesenes, 12
metres wide and 49.5 metres high (half its full height of 98.6 metres),
and the arched belfry on which a large dado stands that serves
as a base for the pyramidal spire topped by the golden angel.
Simple, of Roman concept in its severe harmony of line and proportions,
the tower with the shining golden angel set on a rotating platform at
the top has always been the first sight of Venice for those arriving
by sea,. Struck several times by lightning and by earthquakes it continued
its centuries-old life until the beginning of the 20th century.
On 14th July 1902 the campanile suddenly collapsed as a result
of imprudent constructional work. The damage was not irreparable: the
"proclamation stone" at the corner of the church prevented collapse
of the corner column, thus saving the church. The Balcony however was
buried under the rubble.
News of the collapse spread throughout the world and the Municipal Administration
resolved that the Campanile should be rebuilt exactly as it had been.
The first stone was laid on 25th April 1903 and nine years later,
in 1912, on St. Mark's day, the new campanile was inaugurated.
Externally the building was a faithful copy but was built, for greater
safety and static stability, in accordance with the more rigorous laws
on construction technique. Certain destroyed parts were reintegrated:
on two sides of the dado above the belfry, alternated with the Justices,
the two moving Lions in Istria stone replaced those sculpted
at the time of the fall of the Republic, and the embossed copper statue
of the Archangel Gabriel that topped the tower was recomposed
with the original fragments and almost entirely redone, copying the
old 1822 model.
This history of the campanile is linked to the memory of the traditional
flight of the Angel celebration that took place on the last Thursday
before Lent, a balancing act in which an acrobat descended a tightrope
from the belfry to a boat in the Basin or to the loggia of the Ducal
Palace where the Doge and Lords observed the spectacle.
A visit to the campanile was an attraction offered also in the past
to illustrious guests, though the Lords were cautious in granting permission
to foreigners for fear that they might survey the layout of the city
and its ports for military purposes. Galileo used the campanile
as an observatory to study the skies and it was there in 1609
that he demonstrated his telescope to the Lords.
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