Italian · Renaissance
Gian Carlo Rainieri
b. 15th century, Reggio Emilia — d. 1531, Venice (reported)
Gian Carlo Rainieri was a clockmaker from Reggio Emilia who, with his father Gian Paolo, built the astronomical clock of St. Mark's Clocktower in Venice, unveiled in 1499, and then stayed on as its keeper.
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Works by Gian Carlo Rainieri
Gian Carlo Rainieri was an Italian Renaissance clockmaker from Reggio Emilia. With his father, Gian Paolo Rainieri, he built the astronomical clock of the Torre dell'Orologio in Venice's Piazza San Marco, unveiled in 1499 and still running today.
Note that some older accounts reverse the family relationship. In the documented history, Gian Paolo was the father, who received the commission, and Gian Carlo the son.
The clock of St. Mark's
In 1493 the Venetian Senate commissioned Gian Paolo Rainieri (also spelled Ranieri), a clockmaker from Reggio Emilia who had already built clocks in his home town, to make a great public clock for Piazza San Marco. A new tower to house it was built at the north side of the square in 1496–97, at the point where the Mercerie, Venice's main shopping street, enters the piazza; its design is usually attributed to Mauro Codussi. The clock was installed and unveiled on 1 February 1499, a date recorded by the diarist Marin Sanudo. See St. Mark's Clocktower.
The great dial, in blue enamel and gold, shows the 24 hours in Roman numerals, the signs of the zodiac and the phases of the moon. Above it stand a gilded Virgin and Child, flanked by doors from which figures of the Magi, led by an angel, emerge to bow to the Virgin during Ascension week and at Epiphany. Higher still is the winged lion of St. Mark against a starry blue ground, and on the roof two bronze giants, known as the Moors for their dark patina, strike the hours on a great bell.
Gian Carlo's part
Gian Paolo is reported to have died before the project was completed (sources give 1498 or shortly after), so the work of finishing and installing the mechanism fell largely to his son. Gian Carlo then remained in Venice. After a dispute over the payment of his fees, the Republic granted him a lifetime annuity and the post of keeper of the clock, a position meant to pass to his descendants; he is reported to have died in Venice in 1531.
The blinding legend
A popular Venetian story claims that the clockmakers were blinded afterward so that they could never build a rival clock for another city. There is no evidence for it, and the documents point the other way: the Rainieri were rewarded with a pension and an official post.
Where to see it
The clock is in Piazza San Marco, above the arch into the Mercerie. The mechanism has been altered and restored many times, notably in the 1750s and in a restoration completed in 2006, and guided tours of the tower, run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, take visitors up to the bell and the Moors. See also Monet's view of the Doge's Palace for Venice in painting.
Questions & answers
Who built the clock in St. Mark's Square, Venice?
The astronomical clock of the Torre dell'Orologio was built by Gian Paolo Rainieri and his son Gian Carlo, clockmakers from Reggio Emilia. The Venetian Senate commissioned it in 1493, and it was unveiled on 1 February 1499.
Were the makers of the St. Mark's clock blinded?
No. The story that the Rainieri were blinded so they could not build another clock is a legend. Records show that Gian Carlo Rainieri was instead granted a lifetime annuity and the post of keeper of the clock.
What does the St. Mark's clock show?
Its dial shows the 24 hours, the signs of the zodiac and the phases of the moon. Above are the Virgin and Child, the winged lion of St. Mark, and on the roof two bronze 'Moors' that strike the hours on a bell.