Continued from page 2 on Venice
Today, Venice is a fascinating city with many canals and tourists. Historically, it was also the center of an extremely powerful empire, the Republic of Venice. The Republic lasted from 697 to 1797, with the city of Venice being the capital from 810 to the fall of the replublic to Napoleon's troops. At its height, the Republic of Venice was a powerhouse both militarily and economically. Its trade network was extensive and made Venice rich. They wanted to impress on any visitors that they had wealth and power, so the seat of government was intended to impress. The hub of Venetian Government was in the largest plaze of the city. The patron saint of the Republic of Venice was Saint Mark. So it makes sense that the plazza is called the Piazza San Marco.
The Piazza San Marco actually has two sections: the piazza, and what they call the Piazzetta San Marco, which is the small plaza that creates the L shape of the total plaza. The southeast end of the piazzetta is the Giudecca Canal (the water between Venice and Giudecca Island), and on the northwest end is the Basilica di San Marco. The Basilica creates the northeast end of the main piazza, with long 3-story buildings on the other 3 sides of the plaza. The Basilica is a dominant presence on the piazza and is very popular with tourists. There was a really long line to get into it, and we did not have that much time, so we passed.
Looking down the Piazzetta di San Marco, the buildings on the islands of San Giorgio Maggiore on the left and a bit of Giudecca on the right are visible in the distance. Closer to us are the two large columns, one of the Lion of Venice and the other of San Todaro, who was once the patron saint of Venice. (The patron saint is now Saint Mark.) On the left is the Ducal Palace. On the right is the Marciana Library, and also various shops that face the plaza. And in the middle are many people. This is the crowded end of the piazza.
A closer view of the library building, which is very attractive.
We saw few people wearing hats, but there were multiple vendors that primarily had hats. October must not be hat season.
Francesco and Doni had reserved admission to the Ducal Palace (on the left of the piazzetta). Although we call it the Ducal Palace, it is actually the Doge's Palace. The Doge was the leader of the Republic of Venice, a position that existed for more the entire existence of the republic (1100 years). The Doge was actually elected from amoung the city nobility, acts as head of the military, but as a ruler he was simply part of the senate and had no extraordinary power. A fascinating bit of trivia is how the Doge was elected. It was a very complex process, and involved using small color-coded balls to randomly select which members of the Great Council would actually decide who the next Doge would be. These little balls were called ballotta, and are the source of our word for ballot.
The current palace building was started in 1340. Of course there have been remodelings and reconstructions, by necessity (fires), function (changes in government), and taste (Gothic, Renaissance, and such). The building was first designated as a museum in 1923. The palace is basically a U shape, with a large interior courtyard that has the Basilica forming the north wall. If you click on this link or on the photograph below, you can see a 'sphere photo' that we took in the courtyard. (Click on the picture, then click on the circular arrow to get the sphere view. Google Maps Streetview also has a number of different sphere views of this plaza.)
Our walk through the palace began at this staircase. It gives you an idea of how ornate most of the building is. Francesco and Anne are starting up the stairs, and Paul took the picture. Doni, who had seen the palace before, decided to skip this visit and enjoyed the nice weather outside instead.
This picture looking down the stairs gives a better view of the ceiling.
Near the staircase was an interesting wall plaque that had a carved face with an open mouth, along with some other plaques with openings. These were called Mouths of the Lion (although this one does not look much like a lion). Citizens of Venice would drop signed or anonymous tips about crimes or corruption, which would then be investigated by the appropriate officials. The words state, probably in Venetian dialect, roughly "Secret denunciations against those who conceal favors and duty or collude to hide the true revenues to them". Behind the wall would be a wooden box to receive the complaint or tip. From what we read, complaints that were signed were given the most weight, all complaints were investigated thoroughly before any action was taken, and justice in Venice was considered basically fair.
The rooms for the governing were definitely designed to impress. Even the room they call 'The Four Doors Room', that was simply considered an antechamber, has amazing works of art. This area of the building was severely damaged by fire in 1574 so the architectural features date from after that point. Fortunately, this 1523 painting by Titian was not in the room back then. It is of a Doge (the title of the ruler) kneeling before Faith.
After passing through a waiting room, one arrives at the Council Chamber. The political structure of historical Venice was very complicated, with full councils, sub-councils, a senate, and many other nuances. We definitely do not understand the workings of their government, but it seems that the Full Council pre-screened information and organized the work of the Senate. This room was also destroyed in the fire of 1574. The ornate and impressive ceiling paintings were made shortly after that, and are supposed to represent good government, faith, and virtues. In the first square St. Mark's Bell Tower is visible, by the foot of one of the cherubs.
The next room is the Senate Chamber. The Senate oversaw, under the guidance of the council, the financial and political affairs, including foreign policy. This area was part of the damaged section from the 1574 fire. The rebuilding was finished by 1595. There are many not particularly comfortable looking spots for the senators to sit on. We saw a lot of maintenance work being done in Venice on the exterior of buildings, and it carries to the interiors as shown in this room. There was scaffolding up for preservation of a section.
Another interesting room is the Compass Room. The name comes from an architectural term for a shape that creates a curve. In this case, the compass is the large wooden structure in the corner, with a statue of Justice on the top, that contained the entrance to see the State Inquisitors. This room was NOT damaged by the fire of 1574, and dates from earlier that century.
Windows provides a nice view of Venice, the Giudecca Canal, and one of the other islands.
Shortly after the fire of 1574, another fire hit a different part of the building in 1577. This second fire severely damaged a fresco by Guariento di Arpo from around 1365. It had been covered by a canvas painting at was only rediscovered in 1903. In the center, Mary is being crowned by Jesus. Various saints and prophets are also shown. The heat of the fire faded the colors, but it must have been amazing before then. Note that this is not the original location of this fresco.
Even the hallways are impressive.
This next hallway is not really a hallway. It is a waiting and socializing area for members of the Grand Council. The Grand Council was basically all male adults of the Venetian patrician families. At one point, there were over 2000 members of the Great Council. This group did not do any actual governing, being too large, but voted for positions in government such as the (small) Council and the Senate. They also were able to call to task any of the other government branches if they felt there were issues.
The Chamber of the Great Council was originally used starting in the early 1400s and was damaged in the fire of 1577. It was redone quickly after that. The room is suitably ornate and impressive. The paintings on the walls depict various scenes in Venice's history. At the tops of the walls are portraits of the first 76 Doge. Behind the raised platform at one end of the hall the damaged fresco shown above used to sit. The replacement painting is one of the largest canvas paintings in the world, called 'Paradiso'. If you click on this link or on the photograph below, you can see a 'sphere' view of this room.
Nearby is another room called The Chamber of the Scrutinio. This was originally a library, until 1468 when that function moved over to the Library of Saint Mark across the piazzetta. Subsequently it was used only for elections. The paintings on the walls date from after the 1577 fire and recount various battles, with the remaining Doges are depicted at the tops of the walls. If you click on this link or on the photograph below, you can see a 'sphere' view of this room.
The room in between those two larger rooms contains some paintings depicting the winged lion of Venice.
Continue with the Doge's Palace tour on the last Venice page.
Updated August 2024