Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The giant
Hall of the Grand Council
(175 feet by 80 feet, capacity 2,600) is where
the entire nobility met to elect the senate and doge. It took a room this size to contain the
grandeur of the Most Serene Republic. Ringing the room are portraits of the first 76 doges
(inchronologicalorder).Theoneatthefarendthat'sblackedoutisthenotoriousDogeMar-
in Falier, who opposed the will of the Grand Council in 1355. He was tried for treason, be-
headed, and airbrushed from history.
On the wall over the doge's throne is Tintoretto's monsterpiece,
Paradise,
the largest oil
painting in the world. Christ and Mary are surrounded by a heavenly host of 500 saints. The
painting leaves you feeling that you get to heaven not by being a good Christian, but by be-
ing a good Venetian.
Cross the covered
Bridge of Sighs
over the canal to the
prisons.
Circle the cells. Notice
the carvings made by prisoners—from olden days up until 1930—on some of the stone win-
dowsills of the cells, especially in the far corner of the building.
Cross back over the Bridge of Sighs, pausing to look through the marble-trellised win-
dows at all of the tourists.
This uncrowded museum gives you a good, easy-to-manage overview of Venetian history
and art. The doge memorabilia, armor, banners, statues (by Canova), and paintings (by the
Bellinifamilyandothers)re-createthefestivedaysoftheVenetianRepublic.ThereareEng-
lish descriptions and breathtaking views of St. Mark's Square throughout the museum. But
the Correr Museum has one more thing to offer, and that's a quiet refuge—a place to rise
above St. Mark's Square when the piazza is too hot, too rainy, or too overrun with tourists.
Cost and Hours:
€16 combo-ticket also includes the Doge's Palace and two lesser mu-
seums inside the Correr (National Archaeological Museum and the Monumental Rooms
of the Marciana National Library); daily April-Oct 10:00-19:00, Nov-March 10:00-17:00,
last entry one hour before closing; bag check free and mandatory for bags bigger than a
large purse, no photos, elegant café, enter at far end of square directly opposite basilica, tel.
041-240-5211,
http://correr.visitmuve.it
.
AvoidlonglinesatthecrowdedDoge'sPalacebybuyingyourcombo-ticketattheCorrer
Museum. For €12.50 you can see the Correr Museum and tour the Clock Tower on St.
Mark's Square, but this ticket doesn't include the Doge's Palace (and the €16 combo-ticket
mentioned above doesn't include the Clock Tower). For more on reserving a Clock Tower
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Campanile (Campanile di San Marco)
This dramatic bell tower replaced a shorter tower, part of the original fortress that guarded
the entry of the Grand Canal. That tower crumbled into a pile of bricks in 1902, a thousand
