Relógio de São Pedro, Clock tower in Largo de São Pedro, Salvador, Brazil.
Relógio de São Pedro is a four-faced clock tower in the historic center of Salvador, with timepieces visible from all directions. The structure rests on a base of granite and cast iron, supported by four Atlas figures that hold it from below.
The São Pedro Church that stood here was demolished in 1913 to build Avenida Sete de Setembro under governor J. J. Seabra. The clock, an initiative of the Association of Employees in the Commerce of Bahia, was inaugurated on 15 November 1916, during the government of Antonio Muniz de Aragão. Its bronze sculpture by Italian-born Pasquale de Chirico was finished in Paris in 1914.
The Largo de São Pedro lies in the old centre, in the former parish of São Pedro Velho Extramuros, whose name refers to the area outside the fortress wall. The church that stood here was its mother church until its demolition in 1913. The monument was funded by the Association of Employees in the Commerce of Bahia, and its clocks were made by Henri-Le Pante in Paris.
The monument stands in Largo de São Pedro, beside the Baron of Rio Branco monument, in the commercial area of Salvador's Historic Center. The four clock faces sit above eye level on a 6.50-metre post, so step back across the square to read the time. Look for the numeral 4 shown as IIII rather than IV.
On the clock face, the number four appears as IIII rather than the usual IV. The monument also keeps a link to one keeper: after a vehicle struck it in 1999, maintenance passed to the clockmaker Wilson Ribeiro. In 2024 it was restored and automated by the Gregório de Mattos Foundation.
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