Torre dell'Orologio

This guide to the Torre dell'Orologio in Venice opens with a chilling rumor Venetians used to tell about the clock's builder, then asks whether it's actually true. It traces the real commission back to 1493, when Venice's Senate hired the father-and-son engineers Gian Paolo and Gian Carlo Rainieri to build a clock worthy of a maritime empire, unveiled in 1499. Look up at the two bronze figures on the rooftop as you listen, one bearded and one young, still frozen with their hammers raised.