t The exterior of the palace, bathed in early morning sunlight
E3 ⌂ Piazza San Marco 1 4 San Marco # 8:30am–5:30pm daily (Apr–Oct: to 7pm); last adm: 1 hour before closing ¢ 1 Jan, 25 Dec ∑ visitmuve.it
A magnificent combination of Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance architecture, the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) was the official residence of the 120 doges who ruled Venice from 697 to 1797. Artists such as Titian, Tintoretto and Bellini vied with each other to embellish the palace with painting and sculpture, not to mention architects Antonio Rizzo and Pietro Lombardo, the latter responsible for the ornate western façade.
The Palazzo Ducale was founded in the 9th century, when a fortress-like structure stood on this spot. The present palace owes its external appearance to the building work of the 14th and early 15th centuries, despite a string of fires in the 1500s. The designers broke with tradition by perching the bulk of the pink Verona marble palace on lace-like Istrian stone arcades, with a portico supported by columns below. The result is a light and airy masterpiece of Gothic architecture.
A tour of the Palazzo Ducale takes visitors through a succession of richly decorated chambers and halls, arranged over four floors, culminating with the Bridge of Sighs, which links the palace to the prisons. The Secret Itineraries tour gives access to parts of the palace normally out of bounds, including the prison cell from which Casanova escaped.
The doge’s private State Apartments on the second floor were built after the fire of 1483. Looted under the orders of Napoleon, they are bare of furnishings, but the lavish ceilings and colossal carved chimneypieces in some of the rooms give an idea of the doges’ lifestyle. The Sala dello Scudo, or map room, contains maps and charts, while the picture gallery features some incongruous wooden demoniac panels by Hieronymous Bosch.
The Scala d’Oro (“golden staircase”) leads to the third floor and its Council Chambers. In the Sala del Consiglio dei Dieci, the awesomely powerful Council of Ten, set up in 1310, would meet to investigate and prosecute crimes concerning the security of the state. Napoleon pilfered some of the Veroneses from the ceiling but two of the finest found their way back here in 1920: Age and Youth and Juno Offering the Ducal Crown to Venice (both 1553–4).
The magnificent Anticollegio chamber was the waiting room for those meeting with the Council. The end walls are decorated with mythological scenes by Tintoretto: Vulcan’s Forge, Mercury and the Graces, Bacchus and Ariadne and Minerva Dismissing Mars, all painted in 1578. Veronese’s masterly Rape of Europa (1580), opposite the window, is one of the most eye-catching works in the palace.
In the Sala della Bussola were lions’ heads, where citizens could post anonymous bills denouncing others for their crimes, real or imaginary. The wooden door in this room leads to the rooms of the Heads of the Ten, the State Inquisitors’ Room and thence to the torture chamber and prisons.
The star attraction of the palace is the monumental Sala del Maggior Consiglio. It was here that the Great Council convened to vote on constitutional questions, to pass laws and elect the top officials of the Serene Republic. Tintoretto’s huge Paradise (1587–90) occupies the eastern wall. Measuring 7.45 by 24.65 m (25 by 81 ft), it is one of the largest oil paintings in the world. A frieze along the walls illustrates 76 doges by Tintoretto’s pupils. The portrait covered by a curtain is of Marin Falier, beheaded for treason in 1355.
The Bridge of Sighs links the palace to what were known as the New Prisons, built between 1556 and 1595. Situated at the top of the palace, just below the leaded roof, are the piombi cells (piombo means lead). These cells are hardly inviting but prisoners here were far more comfortable than the criminals left to fester in the pozzi – the dark dank dungeons at ground level. The windowless cells of these ancient prisons are still covered with the graffiti of the convicts.
t The exterior of the palace, bathed in early morning sunlight
Experience Venice
t The grand Palazzo Ducale, seen from Piazza San Marco
By the mid-16th century the Great Council had around 2,000 members. Any Venetian of high birth over 25 years old was entitled to a seat – with the exception of those married to a commoner. From 1646, those from merchant or professional classes with 100,000 ducats to spare could purchase their way in.
Notorious womanizer Casanova escaped from the palace prisons through a hole in the roof of his cell.
Insider Tip
Skip the huge queue for the Palazzo Ducale by buying your ticket online in advance. Failing that, head to the Correr Museum where you can buy a combined ticket without the wait.