Doge's Palace

The Doge's Palace, built in the ninth century, was the residence of Dodge, the former Doge. The Doge's Palace was originally a Byzantine-style defensive castle, and the huge expenditure when it was established showed the power and wealth of the Republic of Venice at that time. Architectural Style The present building was mainly constructed between 1309 and 1424. In 1574, the Governor's Palace was severely damaged by a fire. Although the designers of the time submitted designs in the neoclassical style, subsequent reconstructions continued the original Gothic style. However, there are also some classicist features, such as the Bridge of Sighs, built since the 16th century, through which the Doge's Palace is connected to the prison. Today, the Doge's Palace is a museum where visitors can admire paintings of Venice depicted by Tintoretto and Veronese. The Governor's Palace, which has a ㄇ-shaped internal structure, is divided into three floors, and the two sides facing the square and the wharf are its main walls. In a geometric pattern of white and rose marble, a solid wall is placed on the third floor, with A-line lace interspersed with gothic flame-shaped minarets on the upper edge. The second floor is a Gothic pointed-vault loggia decorated with four-leaf ornaments, and the Gothic arcade on the lower floor is supported by columns to support the two arches on the second floor. This not only subtly breaks the traditional Gothic design, but also subverts the traditional architectural principles to overcome the problem of the top heavy and the bottom light. It retains the original Byzantine concept and integrates the Gothic design to become a light and slender masterpiece of Venetian Gothic architecture. . Buy a ticket from the ticket entrance on the Slavic Embankment. There is a simple map behind the ticket, indicating the location of the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Basilica and the adjacent Craft Museum. Many original sculptures from the Doge's Palace are displayed in the Craft Museum. After entering the exhibition hall, you first come to the atrium, which is characterized by Renaissance-style marble carvings. Here you can see the "onion head" dome of the adjoining St. Mark's Basilica, with a clock-shaped marble facade on it. The first floor of the cloister on the three sides of the courtyard is a Renaissance-style regular round arch, and the second floor is a Gothic pointed arch, which is different from the Gothic pointed arch in the facade of the Governor's Palace. On the promenade on the second floor, there are several lion mouths in the shape of a lion's head, which are used to receive anonymous reporting letters. The public only needs to put the letter into the mouth of the lion. At that time, the Venice government encouraged whistleblowers and protected whistleblowers. Three locks were specially set up in the mailbox, which must be opened by three persons with three keys. In addition, standing on the sky balcony of the promenade on the second floor, you can overlook St. Mark's Square and the lagoon. There are 8 statues from the ancient Greek period in the courtyard. There are two finely carved bronze water wells on the ground in the courtyard, which are considered to be exquisite works of Venice in the 16th century. This well can absorb water from the outside waterway to the atrium for storage. In the past, it was the best quality water in Venice. Every day, many traders came to the Doge's Palace to fetch water, and then took the well water to distant areas to sell it. Then came to the official starting point of the tour route - the golden stairs, from which you entered the interior of the Governor's Palace. At the entrance of the golden staircase arch, the Hercules on the left is Hercules slaying the snake demon, and the god Atlas on the right is carrying the earth. They are above the stone pillars on the two sides of the entrance to represent the power of Venice symbol of. The golden stairs built in the 16th century were only used by nobles and important guests to enter the palace. The stairs can be said to be resplendent, and the ceiling carvings on the top are actually made of plaster and then decorated with a layer of gold foil. Follow the golden stairs to the third floor of the Governor's Palace. Every room here is as luxurious as possible. From the ceiling to the surrounding walls, there are magnificent decorations everywhere. However, according to the regulations here, photography is not allowed above the second floor. The main halls of the Governor's Mansion include the Map Hall, the Four Entrance Halls, the Conference Hall, the Ten-person Hall, the Elder Hall and the Grand Conference Hall. The walls of the map hall are decorated with world maps, and two huge globes are kept inside. In the conference hall, there is Tintoretto's giant mural "Paradise", which is based on Dante's "The Divine Comedy". There are more than 700 figures in the painting, which is called the world's largest oil painting. After visiting the various halls, go to the armory displaying various weapons, guns, ammunition and armor, which preserves the weapons of the Crusades, the first machine gun imitated according to Da Vinci's design, and the shocking chastity belt . Then the passage becomes dark and you will come to the cell located in the basement of the Doge's Palace. The number of prison cells at that time was not enough, so a new prison was built next to the palace, which became an independent building for the purpose of imprisoning prisoners in history, and the Bridge of Sighs connecting the two places was also built.