The Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) in Venice
One of Italy's grandest and most historical town halls, Vence's Palazzo Ducal (Doges or Ducal Palace)
is a massive Gothic-Renaissance building built in 1309, and rebuilt
after a 1577 fire. The public halls of the Doge's Palace are heavily
decorated with canvases and frescoes by Venice's greatest artists: there are several works by Veronese and Tintoretto.
Getting to the Square:
The San Marks sign posted route turning left from the train station, walks you through the tourist
maze and will take about 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on
the crowds and how much you get distracted by the shops. If you cross over the stone bridge to San Simone, the green domed church in front of the station, follow the signs to the
Accademia then to San Marks, a much nicer walk and you see many of the quite canals and cala Venice is know for. You can also take the water bus (vaporetto) down the Gran Canal and start your adventure from the square, (this entering the city from the sea is the classic way to enter the city).
Palazzo Ducale
To understand Venice and the unique place it holds in history, you
should visit the Doge'd Place in San Marco. There are audio guides
available at the main ticket counter that leads you through the multiple
rooms. There is also the "Secret Itinerary" Tour, if you wish to pay a
the price but I do not think it is a must. If you are a scholar of the
history, yes you get a few more glimpses into the Republic's Myth but
as a visitor you are not getting your money's worth.
The
Palazzo once was the Doge's residence and the highest seat of power in
the Republic, it was a symbol of power and put on display the richness
and splendor of the State.
Out the back of the building, you cross over the famous, enclosed Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri),
named by romantic-era writers who imagined condemned prisoners letting
out a lament as they crossed and got their final glimpse of Venice and
her lagoon through the tiny windows in the center. The cells on the
other side preserve the scrawls and graffiti of ancient prisoners.
The Bridge of Sighs
crosses the Rio di Palazzo, so for the full effect you need to see it
from the outside. Best vantage point: stand on the next bridge down the
canal, a wide ponte crossing the Rio di Palazzo along the Riva degli Schiavoni. (it could be called the "Bridge of Tourists Looking at the Bridge of Sighs.")
Getting voted off the island
Any
Venetian citizen could accuse someone of misdeeds by writing the
denunciation down and slipping it through specially placed "Lion's
Mouth" slots in the Palazzo Ducale's walls. While this activity sounds
like prime breeding ground for backstabbing, it was a highly regulated
procedure. All accusations had to be signed and witnessed, and if they
proved merely to be slanderous and not actionable, the would-be
denounced was in serious legal trouble of his own.
The real governing of the Venetian Republic
was not done here in plain sight. True power was wielded in a network
of low-ceilings, wooden-plank corridors and tiny offices wrapped around
this public palace like a clandestine cocoon, the entrances hidden
behind secret doors set into all those fancy oil paintings and carved
woodwork of the public rooms. Here
private secretaries kept records and compiled accusations made against
people both lowly and high-placed.
The only way to see this inner sanctum, is to take the· 90-minute "Secret Itineraries" tour.
The "Secret Itineraries" tour will show you where the Council
of Ten met to decide the fate of the Republic, the inquisition room, and
the "plumbio" the lead lined prison cells where your guide will probably tell you about Casanova's famous escape.
After the tour, you are free to to tour the rest of the palace's public rooms on your own.
Who was the doge?
The Palazzo Ducale is Venice's ducal palace, and in old Venetian dialect, the duke was called the doge or doxe, after the Latin dux, a military leader (which is what dukes originally were; the title of "duke" was the feudal equivalent to "army general.") In Venice, the doge was the head of state, but acted in essence as the highest-level servant of the Republic.
A
doge was elevated from among the aristocracy, was almost always of an
extremely advanced age (they served for life, but no one wanted a Doge
to have power for too long), and was chosen through a process filed with
so much chance and round-robins of elimination as to be thoroughly fair
and random.
The
doge was paid a ridiculously enormous salary so that no outside force
could afford to bribe him, and his every move was supervised. The system
worked surprisingly well. From the first doge elected in AD 700 until
Napoleon deposed the last one in 1797, only twice was the office
betrayed by traitors or major corruption.
- Planning your day: Touring the public areas takes about 45 minutes—maybe an hour to 75 minutes if you stop to read all the informative plaques. The Secret Itineraries tour takes roughly 75 minutes (after which you'll likely want to wander the public spaces for another 30 minutes or so).
- The standard admission ticket to the Doge's Palace actually covers four museums on the square
its name is: "I Musei di Piazza San Marco" so you might as well use it
to pop into at least the Museo Civico Correr, though if you're pressed
for time, go ahead and skip the less interesting Museo Archeologico
Nazionale (Archaeological Museum) and Sale Monumentali della Biblioteca
Nazionale Marciana (fresco-ed, monumental rooms of the Marciana
Library).
- If, you are planning to also visit the Ca' Rezzonico and at least two of the other sights; like the Ca’ Pesaro or the Glass Museum on Murano: go ahead and
buy the Venice Museum Pass; it'll save you money.
- Visit after 1pm—and buy your ticket ahead of time at Venice Connected—and you can get an Afternoon Ticket at a slight discount.
