Venice - Palazzo Ducale

Betsy tries out the audio guide in the courtyard of Palazzo Ducale 

After we finished our wanderings of the San Polo district, we decided to keep going, following the ubiquitous signs to the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square.  As we did so, the crowds increased to epic proportions.  We were entering the tourist zone. Massive cruise ships and day tours only have time for this section of Venice.

Betsy in front of Basilica San Marco

When you enter the piazza, you are surrounded by tour guides holding up umbrellas and kiosks full of totsches and selfie sticks.  We paused here to admire St. Mark's Basilica, crowned by the symbol of Venice, a lion with a book.  (How wonderful that symbol is -- power and intellect joined.) Then, as we were politely told not to sit on the steps along the square by a Venetian volunteer, we decided we should visit the Palazzo Ducale, the palace and headquarters of the doges, the leaders of  the Venetian Republic for over a thousand years until Napoleon took over.

From C.E. 697 to 1797, the Venetian Republic was governed by doges (dukes), the longest sustained republic anywhere in the world. The doges were elected to their posts, though the process was as complicated as becoming the next pope.  Each doge had to pay his own expenses, so by necessity was always wealthy.  Initially, the doge had great power, but over time, it was more of a ceremonial post.  Nonetheless, the doges are commemorated everywhere in Venice, but most so in the doge's palace.

Some Venetian Censors. 

The palace is like our White House.  Inside its enormous rooms, the business of running Venice transpired. Various councils sat in ornate and enormous chambers, including a chamber of censors, established in 1517.  These censors were actually described as "moral consultants,"  who suppressed electoral fraud.  As there were only two censors at any given time, they could only wield so much power.  Nonetheless, they have their own chamber and their own portraits.

The immense Salai dei Consigli, one of the largest rooms in Europe.

The largest room, and in fact one of the largest rooms in all of Europe, was the chamber where the doge presided, the Sala dei Consigli.  This is a room that makes you gasp when you enter.  It's not just the paintings on every surface but the floor, but the size that overwhelms.  Up to 2,000 counselors would meet with the doge every Sunday to air their grievances, while the doge sat on his dais on one end of the room.  As they complained, they were surrounded by a swirl of paintings depicting Venice's triumphs over the centuries.  In addition, a ribbon of portraits of the 76 doges circles the room, except for one doge.  His face has been obliterated with black paint.  This doge was accused of treason and beheaded.     

Steven in front of assorted Venetian triumphs. 
Note portraits of doges just below the ceiling. 

 Word to the wise: we started our visit at 4 p.m., after the crowds had departed.