Torre dell'Orologio, Mantua
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The Torre dell'Orologio is a 15th-century renaissance tower on the Piazza delle Erbe in Mantua, Italy. It is attached to the Palazzo della Ragione, and next to the Rotonda di San Lorenzo. It houses an astronomical clock.
The tower, with a square ground-plan, was constructed in 1472–1473 by Luca Fancelli,[1] a Florentine architect working for Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, on the foundations of a previous 13th-century construction. A door at ground floor level gives access to the Palazzo della Ragione.
In 1473 the astronomical clock was installed, the work of Mantuan mathematician Bartolomeo Manfredi. The clock ran without incident for nearly a century, until the mechanism failed in 1560. It was repaired by Francesco Filopono, mathematician and astronomer. It stopped again in 1700. The mechanism was restored in 1989 by Alberto Gorla.
The statue of the Immaculate Madonna under the clock dates from the early 17th century, as does the marble balcony.
The bell above the tower strikes the hours.
The Emilia earthquakes of 2012 damaged the tower, which was closed while repairs were carried out. Within the tower, the Museum of Time exhibits old components of the clock. The top of the tower offers views of the city and the surrounding lakes.
