Located next to the Basilica di San Marco, Palazzo Ducale has been the symbol of Venice’s political life and public administration for hundreds of years. The site was the seat of ducal power from the ninth century onwards
The Doge was very powerful in the city and acted as a magistrate. Once the duke was elected he had to live by law in the palace for the rest of his life until he died.
Once inside, you will feel amused by the richness of the interiors. Equally elegant and refined frescoes, canvases and ornaments are hard to find in any other governament’s building.
Each of the chambers is superbly ornated, with gilded wooden ceilings and paintings by some of the most famous painters of Venice, Veronese, Bellini, Tintoretto, and Bassano.
The Sala del Maggior Consiglio is the most magnificent room in the palace, while the Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) is highly impressive.
The Bridge connected the old prisons to the interrogation rooms. The name comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their last view of Venice before being taken down to their cells.
Aw we said, the Sala del Maggior Consiglio is the most striking chamber. It has a wide range of paintings, the most famous it is that titled Paradiso by Tintoretto.
Other rooms are worth the visit too: the Doge’s Apartments and the Institutional Chambers, this ones used for the Council’s gatherings to make decisions about laws and politics.
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