tiers at the height of the belfry in celebration. To announce the death of the doge and for the funeral, the bells rang in unison (9 series, each series slowly over 12 minutes). For the death of the pope, the bells rang for three days after Third Hour (6 series, each series slowly over 12 minutes). The bells also marked the passing of cardinals and foreign ambassadors who had died in Venice, the dogaressa and sons of the doge, the patriarch and the canons of St Mark's, the procurators of Saint Mark, and the Grand Chancellor (the highest ranking civil servant). Custodian The custodian of the bell tower was responsible for ringing the bells. Nominated for life by the procurators of Saint Mark de supra, he was often succeeded by his sons or, in one instance, by his widow. The salary varied over time and could include a combination of wages, lodgings in the tower, and the use, for sublet or retail activities, of one of the lean-to stalls at the base of the tower. Collapse and rebuilding (1902–1912) Collapse When the lean-to stalls were removed from the sides of the bell tower in 1873–1874, the base was discovered to be in poor condition, but restoration was limited to repairing surface damage. Similarly, excavations in Saint Mark's Square in 1885 raised concerns for the state of the foundation and the stability of the structure. Yet inspection reports by engineers and architects in 1892 and 1898 were reassuring that the tower was in no danger. Ensuing restoration was sporadic and primarily involved the substitution of weathered bricks. In July 1902, work was underway to repair the roof of the loggetta. The girder supporting the roof where it rested against the tower was removed by cutting a large fissure, roughly in height and in depth, at the base of the tower. On 7 July, it was observed that the shaft of the tower trembled as workmen hammered the new girder into place. Glass tell-tales were inserted into crevices in order to monitor the shifting of the tower. Several of these were found broken the next day. By 12 July, a large crack had formed on the northern side of the tower, running almost the entire height of the brick shaft. More accurate plaster tell-tales were inserted into the crevices. Although a technical commission was immediately formed, it determined that there was no