Doge’s Palace

Overview

The Doge's Palace (Italian: Palazzo Ducale; Venetian: Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Venetian Republic. It was founded in 1340, and extended and modified in the following centuries. It became a museum in 1923, and is one of the 11 museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.

Details

Location" Location: San Marco Square, 1, Venice 30124 Italy
Visitor Visit Type: Vistor Centre
Co-ordinates" Co-ordinates: 45.433620, 12.339920
Web" Web: http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/home/ external_link_dark

Map

History

In 810, Doge Agnello Participazio moved the seat of government from the island of Malamocco to the area of the present-day Rialto, when it was decided a palatium duci (Latin for "ducal palace") should be built. However, no trace remains of that 9th-century building as the palace was partially destroyed in the 10th century by a fire. The following reconstruction works were undertaken at the behest of Doge Sebastiano Ziani (1172–1178). A great reformer, he would drastically change the entire layout of the St. Mark's Square. The new palace was built out of fortresses, one façade to the Piazzetta, the other overlooking the St. Mark's Basin. Although only few traces remain of that palace, some Byzantine-Venetian architecture characteristics can still be seen at the ground floor, with the wall base in Istrian stone and some herring-bone pattern brick paving.

Political changes in the mid-13th century led to the need to re-think the palace's structure due to the considerable increase in the number of the Great Council's members. The new Gothic palace's constructions started around 1340, focusing mostly on the side of the building facing the lagoon. Only in 1424 did Doge Francesco Foscari decide to extend the rebuilding works to the wing overlooking the Piazzetta, serving as law-courts, and with a ground floor arcade on the outside, open first floor loggias running along the façade, and the internal courtyard side of the wing, completed with the construction of the Porta della Carta (1442).

In 1483, a violent fire broke out in the side of the palace overlooking the canal, where the Doge's Apartments were. Once again, an important reconstruction became necessary and was commissioned from Antonio Rizzo, who would introduce the new Renaissance language to the building's architecture. An entire new structure was raised alongside the canal, stretching from the ponte della Canonica to the Ponte della Paglia, with the official rooms of the government decorated with works commissioned from Vittore Carpaccio, Giorgione, Alvise Vivarini and Giovanni Bellini.

Another huge fire in 1547 destroyed some of the rooms on the second floor, but fortunately without undermining the structure as a whole. Refurbishment works were being held at the palace when in 1577 a third fire destroyed the Scrutinio Room and the Great Council Chamber, together with works by Gentile da Fabriano, Pisanello, Alvise Vivarini, Vittore Carpaccio, Giovanni Bellini, Pordenone, and Titian. In the subsequent rebuilding work it was decided to respect the original Gothic style, despite the submission of a neo-classical alternative designs by the influential Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. However, there are some classical features — for example, since the 16th century, the palace has been linked to the prison by the Bridge of Sighs.

As well as being the ducal residence, the palace housed political institutions of the Republic of Venice until the Napoleonic occupation of the city in 1797, when its role inevitably changed. Venice was subjected first to French rule, then to Austrian, and finally in 1866 it became part of Italy. Over this period, the palace was occupied by various administrative offices as well as housing the Biblioteca Marciana and other important cultural institutions within the city.

By the end of the 19th century, the structure was showing clear signs of decay, and the Italian government set aside significant funds for its restoration and all public offices were moved elsewhere, with the exception of the State Office for the protection of historical Monuments, which is still housed at the palace's loggia floor. In 1923, the Italian State, owner of the building, entrusted the management to the Venetian municipality to be run as a museum. Since 1996, the Doge’s Palace has been part of the Venetian museums network, which has been under the management of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia since 2008.

Nearby Locations

LocationDistanceDirection
Piazza San Marco Italy bullet_black0.04 milesSW
Bridge of Sighs Italy bullet_black0.05 milesENE
St Mark's Campanile Italy0.05 milesWNW
St. Mark's Basilica Italy0.06 milesN
San Zaccaria Italy0.18 milesENE
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo Italy0.27 milesWNW
Santa Maria della Salute Italy0.33 milesSW
Rialto Bridge Italy bullet_black0.36 milesNNW
Santa Maria dei Miracoli Italy0.40 milesN
Venetian Arsenal Italy0.49 milesE
Museo Storico Navale Italy0.49 milesE
Santi Giovanni e Paolo Italy0.50 milesNNE
Murano Glass Museum Italy bullet_black1.68 milesNNE
Cava dei Balestrieri San Marino bullet_black103.54 milesS
Guaita Tower San Marino bullet_black103.65 milesS
Museum of Medieval Criminology and Torture San Marino bullet_black103.66 milesS
Porta San Francesco San Marino bullet_black103.66 milesS
Sammarinese Museum of Ancient Arms San Marino bullet_black103.82 milesS
Cesta Tower San Marino bullet_black103.85 milesS
Monastery of St. Clare San Marino104.08 milesS
Information correct as of 05/09/2020