Palazzo Ducale (The Doge’s Palace)
The Palace of the Doges is one of the world's most beautiful public buildings. The unusual exterior has two impressive loggias. The columns of the lower arcade have 38 capitals carved with allegorical figures and heads. Here, too, is the famed Staircase of the Giants (1567) by Sansovino. The opulent rooms are adorned with paintings, frescoes, sculptures, and carvings by scores of Italian artists, including greats like Tintoretto, Veronese, Titian, and Tiepolo. After you are dazzled by this monument to Venetian wealth and vitality, visit the prisons that are reached via the Bridge of Sighs, not yet built in the days when the doge's jails were most active.
Address:
Piazzetta San Marco
Venice
Italy
Telephone: +39 (41) 522-4951