Day 9: Treasures of the Doge’s Palace

The next morning dawned fair again (we have been so blessed!). I woke with a sore throat and probably a bit of fever (I am living on aspirin), so we took it easy in the morning, lying down for a bit after breakfast. The only thing on our schedule was a tour of the Doge’s Palace at noon.

We were lucky enough to get a vaporetto that had seats in the front of the boat, so I got a few last shots of the Grand Canal from a primo position.

One home had what looked like a display of Chihuli glass on its top balcony, sparkling in the sun.

The Rialto Bridge in the background.

Going under the Rialto Bridge.

We started out again at St. Mark’s Square. The bell tower has had climbers with ropes on it for the last few days, and we realized they were repairing cracks in the brick on one side of the wall. Not for the faint-hearted!



The square was crowded with tourists, as usual, but we did a “skip the line” ticket (for which we still had to stand in line, but oh well). It’s a large building right next to St. Mark’s basilica. The doge was the elected ruler of Venice and met with visiting dignitaries and ambassadors, so he needed an appropriately luxurious palace. Most of the original furnishings are gone, but the ceilings remain one of the highlights of the tour. They are almost indescribably ornate, with paintings by Tintoretto and other masters, all framed with gold leaf over plaster work. Not only were five large rooms decorated in this fashion, but also stairways. We were always looking up.



Yes, this is a ceiling!




Another ceiling.


And another!


And yet another!

 

In the largest meeting room, Tintoretto has painted the largest oil painting in existence: a panorama of all the famous and important Venetians being admitted into heaven. The day he finished the painting, his daughter died, so he added her into the middle of the picture, being “sucked up” into the heavenlies. (She’s the one in the middle with the blue skirt.)



Here’s the complete painting.

 

Following are some shots from the prison, which is connected to the Doge’s Palace by the Bridge of Sighs, which Lord Byron immortalized in one of his poems, imagining the condemned prisoners going over the bridge into the prison, taking one last look at lovely Venice, and sighing. This is what the bridge looks like from the outside (note the stone-latticed windows looking out over the canal):



Here is what a prisoner would see from the inside, going from the splendid palace where he or she had just been condemned and sentenced, into the fetid squalor of the prison:







 

The prison itself was grim.


Phil looks a little worried. He’s always joking that his parole officer
has given him permission to get out for a bit.


Prisoners would scratch their names and messages on the walls and window sills.




 

Following the 2-hour self-guided tour of the palace, we decided to spend our final hours in Venice just wandering through its mazes, seeing what we could discover. We found cafes, mask stores for Carnivale, ancient churches, and a wide, sunny square that suddenly opened up from a dark alley, filled with laughing children just out of school. 




A resident hangs out her washing. You can see why some say Venice feels claustrophobic.




There are lots of stone lions in Venice, as it is the city’s symbol. 
This one has a human head in its paws.


We sat and rested on a bench under one of the few trees in the city, then girded our loins and found a wonderful place for dinner. I wish I had remembered to get photos of our dinners, as this one was elegantly presented and delicious. (Goat cheese and spinach ravioli, lasagne Bolognese, and a stunning salad.) And reasonable—about 15 euros each.


 

Then, because I was not feeling well and felt I could not walk another step, we headed home, craning our necks to see the last vestiges of glory as we glided down the Grand Canal. 

 






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