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Stylized illustration of Torre dell'Orologio in Padua - Goparoo

Torre dell'Orologio

Discover Torre dell'Orologio

Last updated on September 7, 2026
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Architecture

The dial is a large gilded disc on blue, read from the square below. It gives the hour on a 24-division scale, the lunar phase, and the position of the sun against the zodiac -- an astronomical instrument rather than a timepiece, and legible as such once you know what the rings mean.

Libra is absent from the zodiac ring. Local tradition blames a clockmaker underpaid and taking revenge; the likelier explanation is that the 1428 rebuild simply laid the signs out in a way that left no room for it. The legend has outlived every attempt to correct it.

Falconetto's 1532 arch at the base is a clean piece of Veneto Renaissance classicism grafted onto a medieval tower, and the join is not disguised.

The short history

How it was built and evolved over time

Frequently asked questions

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