Palazzo Ducale

This immense room is in the wing of the Doge's Palace built between the 1520s and 1540s during the dogate of Francesco Foscari (1423-57). The present decorations date from between 1578 and 1615, after the 1577 fire. The rich ceiling was designed by the painter-cartographer Cristoforo Sorte. Episodes of military history in the various compartments glorify the exploits of the Venetians, with particular emphasis on the conquest of the maritime empire; the only exception being the last oval, recording the taking of Padua in 1405. The walls recount battles won between 809 and 1656. The painting on the eastern side shows The Battle of Lepanto by Andrea Vicentino, from 1571. It is framed by other battle scenes: the Venetian Victory over the Turks at the Dardanelles by Pietro Liberi, painted between 1660 and 1665, and the Venetian Victory over the Turks in Albania by Pietro Bellotti, from 1663. The western wall also retells military stories, including The Conquest of Tyre by Antonio Aliense, ca. 1590 and the Venetian Naval Victory over the Egyptians at Jaffa, by Sante Peranda, painted between 1598 and 1605. The series of Doges portraits of the Chamber of the Great Council continues in the frieze beneath the ceiling, while the south wall is decorated with the Last Judgment by Jacopo Palma Giovane, painted between 1594 and 1595. The room is closed to the north by a majestic triumphal arch by Andrea Tirali.