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 19th 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 14th century. The palace’s
ground floor arcade are decorated with the 14th and 15th
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-16th 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.
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