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After visiting the institutional rooms on the second floor of the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), we followed a stairway down to the first floor. The Doge’s Palace is located just off Piazza San Marco in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Venice, Italy.
Chamber of Quarantia Civil Vecchia
The first room we visited was the Chamber of Quarantia Civil Vecchia (Sala della Quarantia Civil Vecchia). The Quarantia Civil Vecchia was a judiciary council that had authority over civil matters in the city of Venice. The room is one of the oldest in the palace and was refurbished in the 17th century.
Guariento Room
Next door is the Guariento Room (Sala del Guariento), which served the function of receiving deposits of arms and ammunition. It’s named for a fresco painted in the room by Guariento di Arpo around 1365. The fresco was badly damaged during a fire in 1577, covered by Il Paradiso by Tintoretto (see below), and rediscovered in 1903.
Liagò
Both of the previous rooms are connected to the Liagò, which was a corridor for council members to meet and talk between business proceedings. The ceiling was painted in the 16th century and the paintings date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.
Chamber of the Great Council
The Liagò connects to the grand Chamber of the Great Council (Sala del Maggior Consiglio), where the Great Council would hold its meetings. It’s not only the largest room in the palace, but one of the largest in Europe as well. It measures 53.50m long by 25m wide and 15.40m high. The room also contains the balcony that opens onto the façade facing the lagoon.
The Chamber of the Great Council was originally decorated by some of the greatest artists in the 14th century, but the work was lost to a fire in 1577. By 1580, the room had been redecorated by Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, Domenico Tintoretto, Jacopo Palma il Giovane, and other artists. The walls feature paintings depicting events in Venetian history while the ceiling represents the Virtues and instances of Venetian heroism. Just below the ceiling are portraits of the first 76 Doges painted by Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto.
Behind the Doge’s throne is the aforementioned Il Paradiso by Tintoretto, the longest canvas painting in the world. It was painted between 1588 and 1592.
At the end of the room is a small chamber leading to the Chamber of the Ballot. In that chamber is a plaque recalling the vote on October 27, 1866, in which Venice and Mantua approved annexation by the newly-formed Kingdom of Italy.
Chamber of the Ballot
The Chamber of the Ballot (Sala dello Scrutinio) was built under Doge Francesco Foscari as a library to house manuscripts left to Venice by Petrarch and Basilios Bessarion. In 1532, the room changed functions and became the room where electoral counting took place.
After the fire of 1577 destroyed much of the room, the Chamber of the Ballot was decorated between 1578 and 1615. The military victories of Venice make up the theme of the paintings by Tintoretto, Veronese, Andrea Vicentino, and other artists. Portraits of the last 42 Doges are just below the ceiling.
On the wall opposite the entrance is a triumphal arch dedicated to Doge Francesco Morosini for his military exploits against the Ottomans. The wall on the entrance contains a painting depicting the Last Judgement by Jacopo Palma il Giovane.
The ceiling was designed by Cristoforo Sorte and completed between 1578 and 1585. It consists of 40 paintings by different artists inside a golden structure.
Chamber of the Quarantia Criminal
Walking back through the Chamber of the Great Council, the tour continued in the Chamber of the Quarantia Criminal (Sala della Quarantia Criminal). It was used for cases of criminal law. The wooden stalls date back to the 17th century.
Leather Chamber
Next door is the Leather Chamber (Sala dei Cuoi), which was an archive for the Chamber of the Quarantia Criminal. It’s named for the leather decorations on the wall.
Chamber of Censors
The tour then took us downstairs over the Bridge of Sighs to the prisons before returning to the Doge’s Palace at the Chamber of Censors (Sale dei Censori). The censors were charged with preventing electoral fraud and protecting state institutions. Portraits of several censors painted by Domenico Tintoretto line the walls.
Chamber of the State Advocacies
Next is the Chamber of the State Advocacies (Sala dell’ Avogaria de Comùn). The State Advocacies (Avogadoria de Comùn) functioned as state prosecutors, charged with protecting constitutional legality, making sure the councils complied with the law, and verifying the legitimacy of marriages and births inscribed in the Golden Book (Libro d’Oro). Their portraits are the work of Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto.
Treasury
The Treasury (Sala dello Scrigno) is where the Golden Book was kept. All the names of the Venetian noble families were recorded in the book. Portraits of avogadori by Alessandro Longhi, Pietro Uberti, and Vincenzo Guarana decorate the walls. The cupboard, decorated with white and gold, dates back to the 18th century.
Chamber of the Navy Captains
The final room we visited in the palace was the Chamber of the Navy Captains (Sala della Milizia da Mar). The Navy Captains (Milizia da Mar) consisted of 20 members of the Senate and Great Council responsible for recruiting crews for the Venetian fleet. The room was furnished in the 16th century while the lanterns date back to the 19th century.
