Palazzo Ducale

Date: founded 9th century; expansion 14th-16th centuries; expanded interior decorations from 16th-17th centuries
Image View Description: Exterior: View of Giants Staircase and Interior Courtyard
Material/Technique: stone
, Material/Technique: marble
, Material/Technique: brick
Work Type: architecture
Culture: Italian
Culture: Venetian
Location: Venice (Italy)
Notes: Used for formal entrances, the Giants' Staircase is guarded by Sansovino's two colossal statues of Mars and Neptune, which represents Venice's power by land and by sea. The rounded arch dedicated to Doge Francesco Foscari (1423-1457) alternates bands of Istrian stone and red Verona marble and links the Giants' Staircase to the Porta della Carta. Members of the Senate gathered before government meetings in the Senator's Courtyard, to the right of the Giants' Staircase. At the opposite end of the Renaissance façade, the wide Censors' Staircase leads visitors to the loggia floor above.
Image Source: Photography by the Media Center for Art History, Department of Art History and Archaeology, © The Trustees of Columbia University
Photographer: Cassy Juhl
Record ID: ven_doge_court_hall


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