Campanile di San Marco, or St. Mark’s Campanile, is the 16th century bell tower opposite the Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark’s Basilica) and Doge’s Palace in Piazzetta San Marco in Venice, Italy. With the many attractions, distractions and tourists in this center of Venice, you may miss or simply skip the campanile. A big mistake: on clear, sunny days, the 360° views from 325 feet/90 meters up are phenomenal, undoubtably the best that Venice has to offer.
In case you’re wondering, this current campanile is not original: the original, built in the 9th century collapsed in 1902. The current version was built in 1912 from the original plans, so theoretically looks the same.
Viewing Platform
To the Venetians: thank you for having the foresight to include a lift when rebuilding the campanile and removing the strength-sapping walk up hundreds of steps. In less than a minute, the elevator ascends from ground level to the viewing platform.
The campanile is a 39 feet/12 meters square, which makes for a somewhat small area for everyone trying to take their picture. The viewing platform is open-air and not plexiglass-enclosed: no handprints and pigeon droppings to dodge when taking your pictures. It can be fairly windy – comfortably so on the hot day we visited – so be prepared with jackets, gloves, hats, etc., if it’s colder or inclement weather when you visit.
And practice your patience: eventually that social media influencer will finish posing and move on, allowing you to take your own pictures and selfies.
Campanile Means Bell Tower
…and it became loudly apparent that the bell tower is a functioning bell tower. At the top of the hour, the bells started ringing, loudly, almost painfully so. The ringing seemingly went on for minutes before completing the cycle. Be prepared.
Galileo Galilei Plaque
With his telescope from here on August 21, 1609 he broadened the horizons of man in the fourth centenary
The Views
All historical and architecture importance aside, we’ve arrived above Piazzetta San Marco for the views of Venice. We were not disappointed.
Logistics
The following information is correct as of 30 June 2026.
- Address: Piazzetta San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
- Open Times: 9:30am-8:45pm daily
- Tickets: €15 for adults, €7.50 for minors, seniors, and students under 26 years old
- Timed tickets, on busy days you may be declined entrance if you miss your window
- Expect to be on the viewing platform for between 30 and 40 minutes .
Image Credits
- All images © 2026 Scott C Sosna, all rights reserved
