In the heart of the Anacapri historic center, next to the Church of Santa Sofia, there is the seventeenth-century bell tower with three clocks.
Each of these clocks represents a small piece of the history and tradition of the town and its inhabitants.
The first one overlooks the alley of Piazza Boffe and it is not directly visible from the historic Piazzetta.
The second clock, more modern, took the place of the other clock of the tower bell, the oldest, with a very particular six-hour majolica dial.
Not everyone knows that the Anacapri bell tower was strongly desired by the Anacapri population.
So the inhabitants built the tower, brick by brick.
In the first half of the seventeenth century, the first clock was inaugurated.
The exclusive six-hour clock accompanied the passing of time in the Anacapri bell tower until the early twentieth century.
The peculiarity of the ancient seventeenth-century majolica dial is its six hours mechanism, instead of the typical twelve hours.
So the hand of the ancient clock rotated four times during a whole day.
The six-hour majolica dial continued to shine with its beautiful colors, yellow, black, blue and white, for about three centuries, until during the early twentieth century, it was decided to replace the old clock with a new one, with modern twelve-hour mechanism.
To satisfy the will of the Anacapri Church and the population, it was decided to not completely replace the majolica dial, but to reposition it right next to its modern successor.
So for centuries the ancient six-hour majolica clock continues to be admired by the Capri community and many tourists from all over the world, becoming a true symbol of the Anacapri tradition.
