Piazza San Marco: the Clocktower

In the centre of the composition is the Torre dell’Orologio (clocktower) which was designed by Mauro Codussi (1496-99). Above the clock face is a sculpture of the Madonna, and on the very top of the tower are the two bronze figures, called the ‘Mori’, which strike the hours. On the left of the painting is the Loggetta at the base of the Campanile and at the right the fa�ade of San Marco.

The buildings are depicted accurately and in some considerable detail. Such precision contrasts with the liquid freedom of the application of paint used to place the cloud forms above. The figures in the foreground include oriental traders, shoppers, vagrants, servants, children and a youth who reclines nonchalantly in the sunshine.