Conceived as early as 1492 but not completed until 1653, Macerata's 64m-tall civic tower looms over Piazza della Libertà . It's most obvious feature is its striking astronomical clock, in fact an exact replica of the original 16th-century clock that kept time here for some three centuries until 1882. It features an immense blue dial with concentric circles that indicate the hour, the phases of the moon and the movement of celestial bodies.
To see it at its most theatrical, join the rubberneckers for its noon and 6pm performances of Carosello dei Magi, a whirling emergence of an angel followed by Three Wise Men.