The Clock Tower

The Clock Tower – One of the Finest in the Bari Region

The Clock Tower is considered one of the most beautiful in the Bari area. Its construction was prompted in 1884, when the old clock of the Sedile in the historic centre stopped working. Initially, a new clock was planned for the Town Hall façade, but due to structural concerns, it was eventually decided—after a lengthy process—to build a proper tower next to the Franciscan Church of San Giovanni Battista, along the Via Mediterranea connecting Bari and Taranto, commissioned by the Bourbons. The new location was chosen to be at the heart of the town’s expansion and visible from as many vantage points as possible.

The design was entrusted to the Conversanese architect Sante Simone, who opted for the Liberty (Art Nouveau) style, while the Turi master stonemason Giuseppe Schettini completed the tower in 1892, highlighting the exceptional skill of Apulian stonemasons.

The clock mechanism was commissioned from Cav. Alfonso Sellaroli of Guardia Sanframondi (BN), an accomplished tower-clock maker awarded at various international exhibitions. For Turi, he designed a mechanism capable of driving three separate clock faces, each oriented in a different direction.

Unusually, the elegant tower features two domed timpanums embedded in an ornate limestone garland, producing a sound richer than ordinary bells. The bells are programmed according to the “Gran suoneria all’Italiana”, chiming the hours and quarter hours.