Avellino Clock Tower

About 36 metres high, the Clock Tower is one of Avellino's symbols and overlooks Piazza Amendola, near the Palazzo della Dogana and the entrance to the Lombard Caves. Its origins are debated: tradition links it to a watchtower on the walls, but more recent research dates it to the 17th century, commissioned by Prince Francesco Marino Caracciolo and designed by Giovan Battista Nauclerio.Baroque in style, it rests on a rusticated base; it originally had two storeys, to which a third level was added with the clock, the bells and the "diana", rung in times of danger. Restored in 1782, it almost completely collapsed in the 1980 earthquake and was rebuilt reusing some of the original elements. We like to think it was visible from afar along the grain route between Apulia and Naples.