Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Don't Miss
Exterior
After fire gutted the original palace in 1577, Antonio da Ponte restored its Gothic
grandeur. The white Istrian stone and Veronese pink marble palace caps a graceful
colonnade with medieval capitals depicting key Venetian guilds.
The pretty arcaded
loggia
along the
piazzetta
(little square) served a solemn
purpose: death sentences were read between the ninth and 10th columns from the
left.
First Floor
Climb the
Scala dei Censori
(Censors' Stairs) 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
St
Christopher
wading across troubled lagoon waters over the archway.
The
Sala del Scudo
(Shield Room) is covered with world maps that reveal the
extents of Venetian power (and the limits of its cartographers) between c 1483 and
1762.
Sala delle Quattro Porte
Head up Sansovino's 24-carat gilt stuccowork
Scala d'Oro
(Golden Staircase). In
Palladio-designed Sala delle Quattro Porte (Hall of the Four Doors), ambassadors
awaited ducal audiences under a lavish display of Venice's virtues by Giovanni
Cambi. Other convincing shows of Venetian superiority include Titian's 1576
Doge
Antonio Grimani Kneeling Before Faith
and Tiepolo's 1740s
Venice Receiving
Gifts of the Sea from Neptune
.
Anticollegio
Delegations waited in the
Anticollegio
(Council Antechamber), where Domenico
Tintoretto drew parallels between Roman gods and Venetian government:
Mer-
cury and the Three Graces
reward Venice's industriousness with beauty, and
Min-
erva Dismissing Mars
is a Venetian triumph of savvy over brute force. The re-
