Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gia
along the
piazzetta
(little square) may seem like a fanciful flourish, but it served a sol-
emn purpose: death sentences were read between the ninth and 10th columns from the
left. Facing the piazza, Zane and Bartolomeo Bon's 1443
Porta della Carta
(Paper Door) was
an elegant point of entry for dignitaries, and served as a public bulletin board for govern-
ment decrees.
PALAZZO DUCALE'S TOP FIVE PROPAGANDA PAINTINGS
Veronese's
Juno Bestowing Her Gifts on Venice
, Tiepolo's
Venice Receiving Gifts of the Sea from Neptune
, Ti-
tian's
Doge Antonio Grimani Kneeling before Faith
, Tintoretto's
Minerva Dismissing Mars
and Veronese's
Vir-
tues of the Republic
are not to be missed.
Courtyard
Entering through the colonnaded courtyard you'll spot Sansovino's brawny statues of
Apollo and Neptune flanking Antonio Rizzo's
Scala dei Giganti
(Giants' Staircase). Recent
restorations have preserved charming cherubim propping up the pillars, though slippery
incised-marble steps remain off-limits. On the east side of the courtyard arcade were the
dreaded
Poggi
(Wells), where prisoners shivered below water level - but now a baggage de-
posit is installed in their place.
THE MISSING DOGE
In the Sala del Maggior Consiglio the wall frieze depicts the first 76 doges of Venice, but note the black space:
Doge Marin Falier would have appeared there had he not lost his head for treason in 1355.
First Floor
Climb the Scala dei Censori (Stairs of the Censors) to the
Doge's Apartments
, where the doge
lived under 24-hour guard with a short commute to work up a
secret staircase
. Walk up a
couple of steps and turn around to spot Titian's painting of St Christopher wading across
troubled lagoon waters over the archway. The 18 roaring lions decorating the doge's
Sala
degli Stucchi
are reminders that Venice's most powerful figurehead lived like a caged lion in
his gilded suite, which he could not leave without permission. Still, consider the real es-
