The DOGE’S PALACE in Venice is the most successful example of Venetian Gothic and one of the most important masterpieces of Renaissance and 17th century art.
Reconstructed a number of times after numerous fires, it is an ancient and constant presence in the life of Venetians, to the point of being considered their “custodian“.
Residence of the Doges, seat of government and court building during the period of the magnificent Serenissima Republic, the Doge’s Palace, is the maximum and richest symbol of the Venetian civilisation.
It is the most monumental of any public building and more precious than a king’s palace.
Considered one of the most magnificent palazzi ever constructed, it contains works by Tintoretto, Veronese, Palladium, Tiepolo, Bellini, Carpaccio, Correggio and other great Renaissance artists which decorate the enormous halls of the Serenissima‘s public life and the exquisite rooms in the Doges’ apartments.
The BRIDGE OF SIGHS can be admired from the outside from the Ponte della Paglia, or you can cross it during the Secret itineraries in the Doge’s Palace visit.
The bridge is a covered passageway containing two narrow corridors, one entering and one leaving. It connects the Doge’s Palace with the prison building, the Palazzo delle Prigioni Nuove, which also contained the torture chambers and offices of the Venice courts.
Legend has it (hence the name “Bridge of Sighs”) that prisoners who passed across the bridge on their way to the prisons sighed as they looked back at the city and lagoon for the last time through the bridge’s small windows, regretting their lost freedom.
The most famous prisoner who crossed the Bridge of Sighs was nobleman Giacomo Casanova whose escape from the famous “Leads” prison remains one of the most famous adventures of the Venetian Don Giovanni.
