ABSTRACT
On a fine day in 1902, the magnificent bell-tower built in 1173 collapsed on to the Piazza San Marco in Venice. It had acted as a lighthouse to guide sailors in the lagoon. In medieval times, however, it had served a less charitable purpose: condemned persons were shut into cages that were then hauled halfway up the inside of the tower.The tower had survived a number of vicissitudes, including earthquakes in the sixteenth century, up until 14 July 1902, when it finally gave up the ghost after two days of agony.
