St Mark's Clock Tower, Venice, Italy

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St Mark's Clock Tower, Venice, Italy

Venice is known for its canals, gondolas and grand architecture, but if you really want to watch time fly, look no further than St Mark's Clock Tower. For over 500 years, this Renaissance masterpiece has been keeping time in Piazza San Marco, offering both locals and tourists a spectacle of moving figures, astronomical precision and a bit of Venetian charm. The massive blue and gold clock face displays hours, minutes, moon phases and zodiac signs.

One of the tower's most famous features is its two bronze figures, the Moors, who strike the bell every hour. These statues, one older and one younger, symbolise time's passage—past and future working together to keep Venice on schedule. Their mechanical movements have been fascinating onlookers for centuries, proving that even in a city built on water, time marches on.