May 17, 2024 - Classic Italy
Venice:  Doge Palace
A look at the main lobby area of our hotel, which was fantastic in every way.
   
 
   

We started this morning in Venice with a quick walk over to the Doge's Palace.

Here is a good shot of the Griffin on the column.
   
Now in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace.
 
The palace included government offices, a jail, and the residence of the Doge of Venice, the elected authority of the former Republic of Venice. It was originally built in 810, rebuilt in 1340 and extended and modified in the following centuries. It became a museum in 1923.
 
Having entered the palace courtyard by the Porta del Frumento, the oldest side of the building, you can see the Piazzetta wing to the left and the Renaissance wing to the right. The north side of the courtyard is closed by the junction between the Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica, which used to be the Doge’s chapel.
   
One of the two well-heads in the courtyard dating from the mid-16th century.
   

Per Rick Steves:  The seat of the Venetian government and home of its ruling duke, or doge, this was the most powerful half-acre in Europe for 400 years.  The Doge's Palace was built to show off the power and wealth of the Republic.  The doge lived with his family on the first floor up, near the halls of power.
   

The Doge of Venice was the highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697 CE to 1797 CE).  The word Doge derives from the Latin Dux, meaning "leader," originally referring to any military leader, becoming in the Late Roman Empire the title for a leader of an expeditionary force formed by detachments (vexillationes) from the frontier army (limitanei), separate from, but subject to, the governor of a province, authorized to conduct operations beyond provincial boundaries.

The Doge of Venice acted as both the head of state and head of the Venetian oligarchy. Doges were elected for life through a complex voting process.

Our tour guide tells us about the Republic of Venice, its government, and the Doges and their palace.
   
The Republic of Venice was a sovereign state and maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 by Paolo Lucio Anafesto, over the course of its 1,100 years of history it established itself as one of the major European commercial and naval powers. Initially extended in the Dogado area (a territory currently comparable to the Metropolitan City of Venice), during its history it annexed a large part of Northeast Italy, Istria, Dalmatia, the coasts of present-day Montenegro and Albania as well as numerous islands in the Adriatic and eastern Ionian seas. At the height of its expansion, between the 13th and 16th centuries, it also governed Crete, Cyprus, a number of Greek islands, as well as several cities and ports in the eastern Mediterranean, namely in the Peloponnese.
   
Used for formal entrances, the Giants’ Staircase is guarded by Sansovino’s two colossal statues of Mars and Neptune, which represents Venice’s power by land and by sea.  The stairs takes you to the Loggia.
   

A closer look at Mars and Neptune.

The stairs go to the Loggia on the first floor (where the Doge’s Apartments are located).  The Institutional Chambers are on the second floor.

https://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/the-museum/layout-and-collections/layout-and-collections/
   
P21
   
P22
   

At the opposite end of the Renaissance façade, the wide Censors’ Staircase leads visitors to the floors where the tour begins.
 
   

This is the Gold Staircase which takes us to the upper floors, where various State Government offices were situated.

Even the most powerful visitors climbed these stairs to meet the Doge.
   
Looking back down the Gold Staircase.
   

We started off on the Second Floor, in the Institutional Chambers.

The first room we saw was the The Square Atrium with its amazing ceiling.

The room served largely as a waiting room, the antechamber to various halls. The decoration dates from the 16th century, during the period of Doge Girolamo Priùli, who appears in Tintoretto’s ceiling painting with the symbols of his office, accompanied by allegories of Justice and Peace. The four corner scenes, probably by Tintoretto’s workshop, comprise biblical stories – perhaps an allusion to the virtues of the Doge – and allegories of the four seasons. The celebratory decor of the room was completed by four paintings of mythological scenes, which now hang in the antechamber to the Hall of the Full Council. Their place here has been taken by Girolamo Bassano’s The Angel appearing to the Shepherds and other biblical scenes that are, with reservations, attributed to Veronese.
   

Next we came to the Antechamber to the Hall of the Full Council.

Here in the formal antechamber was where foreign ambassadors and delegations waited to be received by the Full Council, which was delegated by the Senate to deal with foreign affairs. This room was restored after the 1574 fire and so was its decor, with stucco-works and ceiling frescoes, similar to what one finds in the Hall of Four Doors. The central fresco by Veronese shows Venice distributing honors and rewards. The top of the walls is decorated with a fine frieze and other sumptuous fittings, including the fireplace between the windows and the fine doorway leading into the Hall of the Full Council, whose Corinthian columns bear a pediment surmounted by a marble sculpture showing the female figure of Venice resting on a lion and accompanied by allegories of Glory and Concord. Next to the doorways are four canvases that Jacopo Tintoretto painted for the Square Atrium, but which were brought here in 1716 to replace the original leather wall paneling. Each of the mythological scenes depicted is also an allegory of the Republic’s government. The Antechamber contains other famous works, including Paolo Veronese’s The Rape of Europe.
   

Spectacular sculpture above a fireplace in the Antechamber to the Hall of the Full Council.
   
Council Chamber ceiling.
 
The Full Council which met in this room was comprised of two separate and independent organs of power, the Savi and the Signoria. The former was in its turn divided into the Savi del Consiglio, who concerned themselves mainly with foreign policy, the Savi di Terraferma, who were responsible for matters linked with Venice’s empire in mainland Italy; and the Savi agli Ordini, who dealt with maritime issues. The Signoria was made up of the three Heads of the Councils of Forty and members of the Minor Council, composed of the Doge and six councilors, one for each district into which the city of Venice is divided.
 
The Full Council was mainly responsible for organizing and coordinating the work of the Senate, reading dispatches from ambassadors and city governors, receiving foreign delegations and promoting other political and legislative activity. Alongside these shared functions, each body had their own particular mandates, which made this body a sort of “guiding intelligence” behind the work of the Senate, especially in foreign affairs.
   

Council Chamber.

The decor was designed by Andrea Palladio to replace that destroyed in the 1574 fire; the wood paneling of the walls and end tribune and the carved ceiling are the work of Francesco Bello and Andrea da Faenza. The splendid paintings set into that ceiling were commissioned from Veronese, who completed them between 1575 and 1578. This ceiling is one of the artist’s masterpieces and celebrates the Good Government of the Republic, together with the Faith on which it rests and the Virtues that guide and strengthen it. The first rectangular panel shows the St. Mark’s bell-tower behind the figures of Mars and Neptune, Lords of War and Sea respectively. The central panel shows the Triumph of Faith, and the rectangular panel closest to the tribune, Venice with Justice and Peace. Around there are some eight smaller, T-or L-shaped panels that depict the virtues of government. Veronese again produces the large canvas over the tribune in celebration of the Christian fleet’s victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571 – a victory to which Venice made an essential contribution. The other paintings are by Tintoretto and show various Doges with the Christ, the Virgin and saints.
 
   
Council Chamber ceiling.
   
Council Chamber
   
Council Chamber
   

Council Chamber
   

Then we moved to the Senate Chamber.

This hall was also known as the Sala dei Pregadi, because the Doge asked the members of the Senate to take part in the meetings held here. The Senate which met in this chamber was one of the oldest public institutions in Venice; it had first been founded in the 13th century and then gradually evolved over time, until by the 16th century it was the body mainly responsible for overseeing political and financial affairs in such areas as manufacturing industries, trade and foreign policy. In effect, it was a more limited sub-committee of the Great Council, and its members were generally drawn from the wealthiest Venetian families.
   

Senate Chamber

The refurbishment after the 1574 fire took place during the 1580s, and once the new ceiling had been completed work started on the pictorial decoration, which seems to have been finished by 1595. In the works produced for this room by Tintoretto, Christ is clearly the predominant figure; perhaps this is a reference to the Senate ‘conclave’ which elected the Doge, who was then seen as being under the protection of the Son of God. The room also contains four paintings by Jacopo Palma il Giovane, which are linked with specific events of the Venetian history.
   
In the Senate Chamber, the 120 senators met, debated, and passed laws.
   
Senate Chamber ceiling.
   
Senate Chamber
   
Senate Chamber
   

Senate Chamber.
   
On the Senate Chamber's ceiling is Tintoretto's large "Triumph of Venice" showing the city in all its glory.  Lady Venice is up in heaven with the Greek gods, while barbaric lesser nations swirl up to give her gifts and tribute.  -- Rick Steves
   
Senate Chamber
   

We move on to the the Chamber of the Council of Ten.

The Council of Ten that gives this room its name was set up after a conspiracy in 1310, when Bajamonte Tiepolo and other noblemen tried to overthrow the institutions of the State. Initially meant as a provisional body to try those conspirators, the Council of Ten is one of those many examples of Venetian institutions that were intended to be temporary but ended up becoming permanent. Its authority covered all sectors of public life and this power gave rise to the fame of the Council as a ruthless, all-seeing tribunal at the service of the ruling oligarchy, a court whose sentences were handed down rapidly after hearings held in secret.
 
The assembly was made up of ten members chosen from the Senate and elected by the Great Council. These ten sat in council with the Doge and his six counselors, which accounts for the 17 semicircular outlines that one can still see in the chamber.

That's our local tour guide, with the blue fish.
   
Chamber of the Council of Ten
 
The decoration of the ceiling was the work of Gian Battista Ponchino, with the assistance of a young Veronese and Gian Battista Zelotti. Carved and gilded, the ceiling is divided into 25 compartments decorated with images of divinities and allegories intended to illustrate the power of the Council of Ten that was responsible for punishing the guilty and freeing the innocent. It is very difficult to interpret each individual compartment because the artists often tend to overlap the traditional interpretation of a mythological event or figure with a reading that is specific to Venice and its history. Veronese’s paintings – from that of the old oriental figure to that showing Juno scattering her gifts on Venice – are particularly famous. The oval painting in the center, depicting Jove descending from the clouds to hurl thunderbolts at Vice, is however a copy of the original Veronese which Napoleon took to the Louvre.
   
Chamber of the Council of Ten
   
Chamber of the Council of Ten
   
Chamber of the Council of Ten
   
Now we're in the Compass Room.
 
This is the first room on this floor dedicated to the administration of justice; its name comes from the large wooden compass surmounted by a statue of Justice, which stands in one corner and hides the entrance to the rooms of the three Heads of the Council of Ten and the State Inquisitors. This room, therefore, was the antechamber where those who had been summoned by these powerful magistrates waited to be called and the magnificent decor was intended to underline the solemnity of the Republic’s legal machinery, some of the most famous and efficient components of which were housed in these rooms. The decor dates from the 16th century, and once again it was Veronese who was commissioned to decorate the ceiling. Completed in 1554, the works he produced are all intended to exalt the “good government” of the Venetian Republic; the central panel, with St. Mark descending to crown the three Theological Virtues, is a copy of the original, now in the Louvre. Sansovino designed the large fireplace in 1553-54. Within the palace, all rooms that served in the exercise of justice were linked vertically. From the ground-floor prisons known as The Wells, to the Advocate’s Offices on the loggia floor, the Councils of Forty and the Hall of the Magistrates of Law on the first floor and the various courtrooms on this second floor, the progression culminated in the prisons directly under the roof, the famous Piombi or “Leads”. Stairways, corridors and vestibules interconnected all of these spaces. From this room, in fact, one can pass to the Armory and the New Prisons, on the other side of the Bridge of Sighs, or go straight down the Censors’ Staircase to pass into the rooms housing the councils of justice on the first floor.
   
Compass Room.
   
Next we moved down to the First Floor to the Liago Gallery.
 
This particular example was a sort of corridor and meeting-place for patrician members of the Great Council in the intervals between their discussions of government business. The ceiling of painted and gilded beams dates from mid 16th century, while the paintings on the walls are from the 17th and 18th century. The gallery also contains three important works of sculpture: Adam, Eve and The Shield-Bearer. These are the originals sculpted between 1462 and 1471 by Antonio Rizzo to adorn the façades of the Foscari Gateway in the courtyard of the palace.
   

Next up is the Chamber of Quarantia Civil Vecchia.

The Council of Forty (Quarantia) seems to have been set up by the Great Council at the end of the 12th century and was the highest appeal court in the Republic. Originally a single forty-man council which wielded substantial political and legislative power, the Quarantia was during the course of the 15th century divided into 3 separate Councils: the Quarantia Criminal (for sentences in what we would call criminal law); the Quarantia Civil Vecchia (for civil actions within Venice) and the Quarantia Civil Nuovo (for civil actions within the Republic’s mainland territories).

This room was restored in the 17th century; the fresco fragment to the right of the entrance is the only remnant of the original decor. The paintings hanging here date from the 17th century as well.
   

In the Chamber of Quarantia Civil Vecchia was this interesting painting of a Doge coming down the Giant Steps.

On May 12, 1797, with Napoleon's troops lined up for an attack on the shores of the lagoon, the Great Council of Venice met for the last time and abdicated in favor of a revolutionary government controlled by the French military command.  On May 15, 1797, the last doge, Ludovico Manin, left the Palazzo Ducale forever.  That was how the thousand-year-old history of the Republic of Venice ended.
   

Ninety years later, in 1887, Vittorio Bressanin wished to convey the powerful meaning of those events with this painting.  An elderly senator decends the Giant's Staircase in the Palazzo Ducale.  His heavy steps and lowered gaze show dignity and resignation.  The old-fashion wig and the famous red gown, which distinguished the magistrates of the Pregadi (members of the Venician senate)  from all the other patricians of Venice, now belonged to a bygone era, the agony of which can be felt in the contrast between  the external pomp and historical reality.

In the interpretation of the 19th century painter, we do not see decadence, bit a reflection on the intiment drama stoically experienced by the magistrate, who here becomes a symbol of the entire city.
   
Next up is the Guariento Room.
 
The name is due to the fact that this room was once linked to the Armory by a staircase, and the second name to the fact that it now houses a fresco painted for the Hall of the Great Council by the Paduan artist Guariento around 1365. Almost completely destroyed in the 1577 fire, the remains of that fresco were, in 1903, rediscovered under the large canvas Il Paradiso which Tintoretto was commissioned to paint for the same wall. Guariento’s fresco, too, depicts Paradise. In the center there is an enthroned Virgin being crowned by Christ, while, to far left and right, are aedicule like those from a portico church façade, under which one can see the figures of the Annunciation: the Angel Gabriel on the left, and the Virgin Mary on the right. Angels playing musical instruments surround the central figures and the Evangelists are shown before the throne; saints, prophets and martyrs are depicted alongside in individual stalls with gothic tracery. The heat of the fire reduced the surviving fragments to a near monochrome, while in places where the plaster has fallen, one can see the red traces of the preliminary drawing. What we have now gives a scarcely adequate idea of what must have been a sumptuous work, glittering with color and gilding.
   
 
   
Looking out the window at the San Giorgio Maggiore Church.
   

We move to the first floor and enter the magnificent Chamber of the Great Council.

Restructured in the 14th century, the Chamber was decorated with a fresco by Guariento and later with works by the most famous artists of the period, including Gentile da Fabriano, Pisanello, Alvise Vivarini, Carpaccio, Bellini, Pordenone and Titian.

53 meters long and 25 meters wide, this is not only the largest and most majestic chamber in the Doge’s Palace, but also one of the largest rooms in Europe. Here, meetings of the Great Council were held, the most important political body in the Republic. A very ancient institution, this Council was made up of all the male members of patrician Venetian families over 25 years old, irrespective of their individual status, merits or wealth. This was why, in spite of the restrictions in its powers that the Senate introduced over the centuries, the Great Council continued to be seen as bastion of republican equality. The Council had the right to call to account all the other authorities and bodies of the State when it seemed that their powers were getting excessive and needed to be trimmed. The 1,200 to 2,000 noblemen who sat in the Council always considered themselves guardians of the laws that were the basis of all the other authorities within the State.
   

This room also housed the first phases in the election of a new Doge, which in the later stages would pass into the Sala dello Scrutinio. These voting procedures were extremely long and complex in order to frustrate any attempts of cheating.
   

Every Sunday, when the bells of St. Mark’s rang, the Council members would gather in the hall with the Doge presiding at the center of the podium and his counselors occupying double rows of seats that ran the entire length of the room.

Soon after work on the new hall had been completed, the 1577 fire damaged not only this Chamber but also the Sala dello Scrutinio. The structural damage was soon restored, respecting the original layout, and all works were finished within few years, ending in 1579-80. The decoration of the restored structure involved artists such as Veronese, Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto, and Palma il Giovane. The walls were decorated with episodes of the Venetian history, with particular reference to the city’s relations with the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, while the ceiling was decorated with the Virtues and individual examples of Venetian heroism, and a central panel containing an allegorical glorification of the Republic.

Facing each other in groups of six, the twelve wall paintings depict acts of valor or incidents of war that had occurred during the city’s history. Immediately below the ceiling runs a frieze with portraits of the first 76 doges (the portraits of the others are to be found in the Sala dello Scrutinio); commissioned from Jacopo Tintoretto, most of these paintings are in fact the work of his son, Domenico. Each Doge holds a scroll bearing a reference to his most important achievements, while Doge Marin Faliero, who attempted a coup d’état in 1355, is represented simply by a black cloth (a traitor to the Republic, he was not only condemned to death but also to damnatio memoriae, the total eradication of his memory and name).
   
On the wall over the Doge's throne is Tintoretto's monster-piece, 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 being a good Venetian.  -- Rick Steves
 
Jacopo Tintoretto and his workshop produced Paradise between 1588 and 1592 to replace the Guariento fresco that had been damaged in the fire.
   
Left side of Paradise.
   
 
   
A painting of the Doge's Palace on the left back in the day.
   

Tiepolo’s painting Neptune Offering Gifts to Venice is one of the most important works by the famous Venetian painter and one of the rare paintings created for the Doge’s Palace during the 18th century.

The artwork is an allegorical representation of the city of Venice, depicted as a regal woman receiving treasures from Neptune, the Roman god of the sea. This symbolizes Venice's historical maritime power and wealth derived from its control over trade routes. The painting is part of the elaborate decorative program celebrating the Republic of Venice's prosperity and dominance.
   

This painting depicts the Lion of Saint Mark, the symbol of Venice and its patron saint. The lion is shown with wings and a halo, holding an open book with the Latin inscription "PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEUS," which translates to "Peace to you, Mark, my Evangelist." This imagery represents the Republic of Venice's power, protection, and connection to Saint Mark, whose relics are housed in Venice's Basilica di San Marco.

The background features iconic Venetian landmarks, such as the Doge's Palace and ships, symbolizing Venice's maritime strength and prosperity. The painting is a classic example of Venetian iconography, often found in government and civic buildings to emphasize the city's political and religious identity.
   
Crossing the Bridge of Sighs.
   
Clearly, this prison cell was a place you did not want to be.  You're not getting past those bars.
   
The furnishings are a little sparse.
   

We crossed back over to the Palace and explored the Loggia Floor.

The first stop was the Chamber of Censors.

The State Censors were set up in 1517 by Marco Giovanni di Giovanni, a cousin of Doge Andrea Gritti (1523-1538) and nephew of the great Francesco Foscari. The title and duties of the Censors resulted from the cultural and political upheavals that are associated with Humanism. In fact, the Censors were not judges as such, but more like moral consultants, being their main task the repression of electoral fraud and the protection of the State’s public institutions. On the walls hang a number of Domenico Tintoretto’s portraits of these magistrates, and below the armorial bearings of some of those who held the position.
   
Still in the Chamber of Censors.
   

Now we're in the Chamber of the State Advocacies.

This particular State Advocacy department dates from the time when Venice was a commune (12th century). The 3 members, the Avogadori, were the figures who safeguarded the very principle of legality, making sure that the laws were applied correctly. Though they never enjoyed the status and power of the Doge and the Council of Ten, the Avogadori remained one of the most prestigious authorities in Venice right up to the fall of the Republic. They were also responsible for preserving the integrity of the city’s patrician class, verifying the legitimacy of marriages and births inscribed in the Golden Book. The room is decorated with paintings representing some of the Avogadori venerating the Virgin, the Christ and various saints.
   
Chamber of the State Advocacies
   

Looking out the window at the Bridge of Sighs and the prison.
 
   
What, me worry?
   
High altitude aerial photo of Venice.  The Grand Canal dominates Venice.
   
 
   
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