Doge's Palace - Secret Itineraries
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he tour begins in the large and sunny courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale, a narrow "door" will lead you to the small and damp cells of the "Wells", the gloomy and inhospitable prisons where, in the days of the Venetian Republic, the prisoners languished in conditions of extreme difficulty.
Beyond the "Wells" the path continues up through a narrow staircase to the two small rooms that accommodated important officials of institutional mechanisms, the Ducal Notary and the Deputy to the Secret Council of Ten..

From here you can go and visit the other rooms: the Office of the Great Chancellor, the large and beautiful Hall of the Secret Chancellery.
You'll then arrive to the "Stanza della Tortura" (Torture Room), also called "Camera del Tormento" (Chamber of Torment), once connected directly to the prisons, where interrogations took place in the presence of judges, right up to the "Piombi" (Leads), the famous prisons under the roof of the palace, whose name comes from the lead slabs covering the room. Giacomo Casanova was imprisoned here, the protagonist of a legendary escape in 1756.
Through the attic we descend into the Hall of the Inquisitors. From here you can go to the "Sala dei tre Capi" (Hall of the Three Heads). Finally, through a narrow secret passage, you enter the Hall of the Council of Ten.
Please note that the tour of the Secret Itineraries of Doge's Palace includes very narrow passages and very steep stairs.

The two, reconstructed, cells that were occupied by Casanova make up part of the tour. From the Piombi you pass directly to the attic, tall and suggestive, located at the corner of the building between the Bacino San Marco and Rio di Palazzo facades. This was where of one of the corner towers of the much earlier castle occupied by the Doge. The cabinets contain a number of weapons, most of them sixteenth-century. The ceiling is decorated with works by Tintoretto, painted between 1566 and 1567.

Via a secret passageway within a wooden cabinet, the Chamber of the Three Head Magistrates is linked directly to the Chamber of the Council of Ten, from where one can go on to visit the rest of the Palace.



Booking:

BOOKING



Full Price
Reduced Price
€ 34.00
€ 21.00
Rates include tickets, guided tour in English, in Italian or in French, Venice Audioguide (6.00 Euro)

Opening Times:


Every day in the morning.

Guided tours in English: 10.10 am, 12.10.
Guided tours in Italian: 9,30 am; 11,30 am.
Guided tours in French: 10.50 am

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