Campanile del Duomo di Messina (Astronomical Clock Tower)
At noon, a golden lion presides over the top of a 60-metre tower while, below it, two bronze women ring bells, a rooster throws back its head and crows three times, and Schubert's Ave Maria drifts across the piazza. This is the Campanile del Duomo di Messina doing what it was built to do — keeping time, telling stories, and drawing a crowd.
The astronomical clock built into its facade is the largest and most complex of its kind in the world: 54 mechanical bronze figures, a perpetual calendar, a planetarium dial, and a carousel of ages that turns every quarter hour. It was inaugurated on 13 August 1933, and it has not stopped since.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who've been before tend to arrive at least 45 minutes early — the benches around Piazza Duomo fill up well ahead of noon. The tower climb (236 steps) is worth folding in before the show, so you can be back at ground level when the figures begin to move.
The story behind Campanile del Duomo di Messina (Astronomical Clock Tower)
A bell tower stood here during the Norman era, was damaged in the 1783 earthquake, shortened by the Messina Senate, and then demolished in 1863 when it was judged unsafe. The 1908 earthquake — which devastated most of the city — cleared the site entirely. Archbishop Angelo Paino commissioned a new tower based on the original design; architect Francesco Valenti drew the plans, and the Ungerer Company of Strasbourg, already celebrated for precision clockmaking, completed construction in three years.
The Ungerer firm's Théodore Ungerer handled the artistic design; Frédéric Klinghammer engineered the mechanism. The eight bells were cast by the Colbachini foundry of Padua in 1929 — the largest bell concert in Sicily — though two older bells at the rooster's sides likely date from the late 16th century, one bearing the inscription 'Michael Salicula me fecit.'
Good to know
Tower admission is €5 adults, €2.50 under 18; the noon clock performance is free from the piazza. The tower closes without warning in rain, strong wind, or thunderstorm. Stairs are steep and narrow — not wheelchair accessible. Budget roughly an hour if you climb.
Summer visits mean full sun on the piazza during the noon show — shade is limited, so a hat matters. The tower closes in rain or strong wind, which is worth checking before you make the trip specifically for the clock performance.
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What travellers say about Campanile del Duomo di Messina (Astronomical Clock Tower)
The clock is absolutely captivating! Make sure you go at noon so that you can witness all the statues in motion. If you like architecture, do not miss this site! We did not go inside the tower, however the outside was magnificent enough.
I recommend to go inside and go up the tower. Each floor is interesting to see, how all the mechanisms work, and on the top you have a nice panoramic view on all Messina.
The great clock of Messina:The bell tower of the Cathedral of Messina is 60 m high and contains the biggest and the most complex mechanical and astronomical clock in the world. Designed by the firm Ungerer of Strasbourg for the Archbishop at the time, Mons. Angelo Paino, the clock was inaugurated on August 13th, 1933. At noon a complex system of counterweights, leverages and gears, determines the movements of the 54 gilded bronze statues located in the façade overlooking the square. One can climb the tower (5€) for an wonderful view of Messina
Lovely both inside and out, day and night. Very close to the cruise ship pier.
Beautiful old building with moving parts and sounds. 12 o'clock sharp for start.
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