Doge's Palace, Venice

I must admit that I had never heard of Doge's Palace but I am sure glad I learned about it when I was in Venice. The palace was originally the residence of the Doge of Venice (or Chief Magistrate) when the seat of power was moved to Venice around 810. In this oil on canvas painting, Doge's Palace is the building on the right; it helps mark the entry to the San Marcos Piazza from the harbor.

Each doge held power for their lifetime and was at first elected by the aristocracy of the city-state. Life was not easy for the elected doge for our guide amusingly informed us that, "half of the doges mysteriously disappeared while sleeping and the other half were murdered or exiled." In order to deal with a disgruntled society, the election of doges was gradually handled by more regional representation than only the dominant families. Over time the role of the doge was reduced and replaced by the citizens of Venice forming a solid foundation of democracy with nominated and elected officials.

Even in the early years, architects of Doge's Palace wanted the public to know they were entering a place of justice. Adam and Eve with the Archangel hovering above to banish them from the garden is a good example of this: the result of disobedience = justice. These statues exist on the oldest part of the palace, the wing overlooking the lagoon.

This impressive complex, built around an inner courtyard, was the meeting place of the governing councils and ministers of the republic. Architectural elements helped support the themes of justice and democracy, for the central building connected law-courts with an arcade (passageway with arches on both sides) and grand staircase invited an ever-growing number of council members into the buildings.

Visitors are allowed to go to the upper levels to walk through private rooms where the doge lived and public areas where members of the republic 'processed justice'. We came across the Council Chamber where council members organized and coordinated the work of the Senate, read notices from ambassadors and city governors, received foreign delegations and promoted other political and legislative activity.

Clocks from the Early Modern period (around mid-17th century) are prominently displayed in this chamber but show time in a different way than we are used to today. The hands on the clock can go in both directions, clock-wise or counter-clockwise, and the numbers are located in different positions on the dial. It is important to remember that the day started at sunset back then and this made it difficult to set time because the sun sets at different times throughout the year! As a result, these clocks had to be adjusted continuously until the decision was made to start each day at 12:00 midnight.

The Senate Chamber held members of the senate who oversaw political and financial affairs in areas such as manufacturing industries, trade and foreign policy. There was an emphasis on the political and economic (not religious) life in Venice which was depicted in paintings throughout the palace. In fact, one of the ceremonial duties of the doge was to celebrate the symbolic marriage of Venice with the sea since marine trade was of prime importance. Ceremonially, Venice was the husband and "Lord of the Sea" married to his wife the "Goddess of the Sea".

One room I found particularly fascinating was the Chamber of the Great Council where the most important political body convened in the republic. Again, Venice was interested in justice and democracy so that's why this room needed to accommodate a large membership, made up of males 25+ years old and elected from varying levels of socioeconomic status. The Great Council was seen as the bastion of republican equality! From an architectural perspective, not only was this the largest chamber in the palace but apparently in all of Europe, having dimensions of 53m long X 25m wide.

One of its walls, behind the doge’s throne, holds the longest canvas painting in the world entitled Il Paradiso, created by Tintoretto and his workers between the years 1588 and 1592.

After spending time observing this spacious room, we walked through an inconspicuous narrow door located in the front corner of the room. Guards would escort prisoners through this door into a prison area that was incredibly dark and dismal. I could only imagine how depressing it would be to be a prisoner led along this corridor, catching only the occasional glimpse of daylight along the way.

It was also interesting to learn that prison was not seen as a final punishment but only as a holding area. Punishment was often execution or exile. There was no "presumed innocent until found guilty" for prisoners because it was assumed they were guilty by the time they got to trial. In other words, the magistrate was not trying to decide on innocence or guilt but rather on how to get the accused to confess. No doubt this is why there were so many methods of torture available at the time.

The Bridge of Sighs was built in 1641 to link Doge's Palace with new roomier and brighter prison cells needed due to overcrowding. The famous name of the bridge dates from the Romantic period and was supposed to refer to the sighs of prisoners who, passing from the courtroom to their cell, took a last look at freedom as they glimpsed at the lagoon and San Giorgio through the small windows.

The buildings containing council rooms and prisons formed three sides of the inner courtyard as they were built over a few centuries. Saint Mark's Basilica formed the remaining side of the courtyard (see post). The Golden Staircase, built in the inner courtyard in 1485, provided one single monumental approach from the public square to the state rooms on the upper level of Doge's Palace. Since 1567, the Golden Staircase has been guarded by Sansovino’s two statues of Mars and Neptune, representing Venus’ power by land and by sea. It is known that members of the Senate gathered before government meetings in the courtyard, to the right of this staircase.

You can look out from any building along the waterfront and find a great view. The person who created this steel etching of Doge's Palace in the mid-1800s must have felt the same way!