page_title: St Mark's Campanile
section_title: Elevator
hierarchical_section_title: St Mark's Campanile / Elevator
caption_attribution_description: A composite panorama (assembled from four separate photographs) of Venice, Italy as seen from the top of St. Mark's Campanile
context_page_description: St Mark's Campanile is the bell tower of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy. It is the tallest structure in Venice and is colloquially termed "el paròn de casa". It is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city.
  Located in Saint Mark's Square, Venice's former governmental centre, the campanile was initially built as a watch tower to sight approaching ships and protect the entry to the city. It also served as a landmark to guide Venetian ships safely into harbour. Begun in the early tenth century, the tower was slowly raised in height and acquired a belfry and a spire in the twelfth century. In the fourteenth century the spire was gilded, making the tower visible to distant ships in the Adriatic. The campanile reached its present height of 98.6 metres in 1514 when the belfry and spire were completely rebuilt on the basis of an earlier design by Giorgio Spavento. Historically, the bells served to regulate the civic and religious life of Venice, marking the beginning, pauses, and end of the work day, the convocation of government assemblies, and public executions.
  The campanile stands alone in the square, near the front of Saint Mark's Basilica.
context_section_description: In 1892, it was first proposed that an elevator be installed in the bell tower. But concerns over the stability of the structure were voiced by the Regional Office for the Preservation of Veneto Monuments (Ufficio Regionale per la Conservazione dei Monumenti del Veneto). Although a special commission was nominated and concluded that the concerns were unfounded, the project was abandoned.
  At the time of the reconstruction, an elevator was utilized to raise the new bells to the level of the belfry, but it was only temporary. Finally, in 1962, a permanent elevator was installed. Located within the inner shaft, it employs 30 seconds to reach the belfry.
caption: Composite panoramic view of Venice as seen, looking south-west, from the belfry
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