Arts and Music Atlas

Works, Makers, Traditions
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Work

Doge's Palace

Civic, Commercial and Institutional Buildings

The Doge's Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. It included government offices, a jail, and the residence of the Doge of Venice, the elected authority of the former Republic of Venice, originally built in 810, rebuilt in 1340 and extended and modified in the following centuries; it became a museum in 1923.

Facts
Location
Venice, northern Italy 1
Architectural Style
Venetian Gothic 1
Structural System
Ground-floor arcade with an open loggia above, in load-bearing masonry 1
Primary Material
Istrian stone with red Verona marble accents 1
Building Type
Ducal palace (government offices, law courts, prison and the Doge's residence) 1
Commissioned By
Doge Francesco Foscari (1424 extension of the wing overlooking the Piazzetta) 1
Construction
from 1340 1
Current Use
Museum, part of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia network 1
Visitor Access
Open to the public as a museum 1
Partially Attested
Year Created
1442 1
The palace was built and rebuilt in phases from 810; the Gothic wing facing the Piazzetta, including its ceremonial Porta della Carta entrance, was completed in 1442, but further wings and interiors were rebuilt after major fires in 1483, 1574 and 1577.
Classification
Genre
Architecture 1
Connections

In Form

Venetian Gothic palace, seat of the Doge of Venice.

In Movement

Venetian Gothic design, begun 14th century.

Sources
1. Doge's Palace (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Introduction (location)
    The Doge's Palace (Doge pronounced ; Italian: Palazzo Ducale; Venetian: Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy.
  • Introduction (architectural-style)
    The Doge's Palace (Doge pronounced ; Italian: Palazzo Ducale; Venetian: Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy.
  • Introduction (building-type)
    The palace included government offices, a jail, and the residence of the Doge of Venice, the elected authority of the former Republic of Venice.
  • History (construction-start-year)
    The new Gothic palace's constructions started around 1340, focusing mostly on the side of the building facing the lagoon.
  • History (year-created)
    Only in 1424 did Doge Francesco Foscari decide to extend the rebuilding works to the wing overlooking the Piazzetta, serving as law-courts, and with a ground-floor arcade on the outside, open first-floor loggias running along the façade, and the internal courtyard side of the wing, completed with the construction of the Porta della Carta (1442).
  • History (structural-system)
    Only in 1424 did Doge Francesco Foscari decide to extend the rebuilding works to the wing overlooking the Piazzetta, serving as law-courts, and with a ground-floor arcade on the outside, open first-floor loggias running along the façade, and the internal courtyard side of the wing, completed with the construction of the Porta della Carta (1442).
  • History (commissioned-by)
    Only in 1424 did Doge Francesco Foscari decide to extend the rebuilding works to the wing overlooking the Piazzetta, serving as law-courts, and with a ground-floor arcade on the outside, open first-floor loggias running along the façade, and the internal courtyard side of the wing, completed with the construction of the Porta della Carta (1442).
  • Courtyard (primary-material)
    The design envisaged a straight axis with the rounded Foscari Arch, with alternate bands of Istrian stone and red Verona marble, linking the staircase to the Porta della Carta, and thus producing one single monumental approach from the Piazza into the heart of the building.
  • Introduction (current-use)
    Since 1996, the Doge's Palace has been part of the Venetian museums network, which has been under the management of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia since 2008.
  • Introduction (visitor-access)
    It became a museum in 1923 and is one of 11 museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.
  • Genre reference
    The Doge's Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.