Palazo Ducale; Venice, Italy; 1340

            Palazo Ducale, also known as Doge’s Palace is one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice, northern Italy. The palace was built using the Venetian Gothic style, an aspect that makes it to be iconic. This palace housed the Doge of Venice who was the supreme leader of the former Republic of Venice. It was opened as a museum back in 1923 and it is one of the 11 museums run and managed by the Fondazione Museu Civici di Venezia.

            The construction of this palace began in around 1340 and was influenced by political changes that led to an increase in the number of the members of the Great Council of Venice. The palace was to be constructed using the Gothic design and was to face to the lagoon. However, things changed in 1424 when the then Doge Francesco Foscari decided to extend the palace works to the side that overlooked the Piazzetta that served as the republic’s law courts. In 1483, the palace overlooking the canal where the Doge’s residence was located was destroyed by fire. This destruction led to the need of reconstruction of the palace, and led to Antonio Rizzo commissioning the reconstruction of the palace. Unlike his predecessors, Rizzo introduced the new Renaissance language to the architecture of the building. This aspect led to a new structure being raised alongside the canal and stretched to ponte della Paglia from ponte della canonica. Since the then, the building underwent reconstructions as a result of being occupied by different administrative offices. For instance, it had to renovated by the Italian government at the end of the 19^th century as it had started showing signs of decay.

            Today, the building is believed to be iconic mainly because of its architectural design. The oldest wing of this palace is the one overlooking the lagoon whose corners are decorated with the sculptures of the 14^th century. The palace’s ground floor arcade are decorated with the 14^th and 15^th centuries’ capitals. The building also has the Porta della Carter that was built by Bartomeo Bon and Giovanni Bon which was used as a ceremonial entrance to the palace.

            The palace has a very beautiful courtyard. However, this courtyard is closed on the northern side by the junction between St. Mark’s Basilica and the palace. During the time period when Venice was a republic, St. Mrak’s Basilica used to be the Doge’s chapel. At the middle of the courtyard, there stands two well-heads that date back in the mid-16^th century. At the same time, the courtyard has a ceremonial staircase that was commissioned by the Great Council in 1485.

            When this palace housed the Doges, their rooms were usually located between the apse of St. Mark’s Basilica and Rio della Canonica, the present day Golden Staircase. In these rooms, the Doges were allowed to set aside their offices trappings where they retired at the end of the day and dine with their families. Here, Doges were allowed to bring their own furniture to their private rooms so as to be in a position to feel comfortable. Once the Doge died, his furniture was usually removed so as to pave way for a new Doge (Ragazzi, 1996).

References

Ragazzi, F. (1996). Palazzo ducale. Genova: Tormena.