The Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale) in Venice was the residence of the Doge of Venice and the seat of the former Republic’s government for centuries, and remains one of the city’s most important Gothic buildings. It sits beside St Mark’s Basilica on St Mark’s Square and connects, via the covered Bridge of Sighs, to the former prisons on the other side of a narrow canal.
Inside, visitors pass through lavishly decorated council chambers and state rooms filled with works by Venetian masters including Tintoretto and Veronese, before descending into the palace’s original dungeons. The route offers a rare look at both the ceremonial grandeur of Venetian government and the darker history of its justice system.
The palace stays open later on Friday and Saturday evenings from May through September for extended summer hours, and is closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
