Doge's Palace

Why go

This is the place to understand Venice as a state rather than only a city of canals. The palace housed its elected leader and political administration, while the connection to the New Prisons makes justice part of the same setting. Its architecture combines several periods instead of presenting one uniform style.

What to look for

• Repeated Gothic arches give the exterior its finely patterned frontage.
• The palace adjoins St Mark's Basilica, the doge's former chapel.
• The Bridge of Sighs links the palace to the New Prisons across the canal.

The full story

The doge was an elected head of the Venetian Republic, not a hereditary duke. Venice's aristocracy selected him for life, and the palace served as both his residence and the seat of government. Its grandeur therefore expressed the authority of a republic governed by noble families rather than the private dynasty of a king. The election system grew deliberately complicated. Successive rounds of selection and drawing lots reduced the ability of a powerful family to control the final electors. This concern with limiting individual influence gives the building a useful political context: the impressive title of doge existed within institutions designed to protect the ruling order. The palace's fabric also records change. Gothic, Renaissance and Mannerist elements belong to different phases of construction and alteration. Across the canal, the New Prisons extend the story from the display and administration of power to its judicial machinery. Reading those functions together gives the architecture a meaning beyond ornament.

Useful to know

• Set aside a substantial indoor visit for the palace rather than only an exterior photograph.
• Pair the palace with the basilica exterior to see how government and worship shared San Marco.

Your next visit

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