Doge's Palace Tour
Trip Start
Mar 30, 2009
1
18
20
Trip End
Apr 18, 2009
Venice, Veneto, Italy
Thursday, April 16, 2009
I first went and got my ticket for the Secret Tour at Ducale Palace. I decided to go through Doge Palace before my tour, which was the best idea because it still wasn't too crowded yet. The history was quite interesting and the rooms were nice, but no photos were allowed. It is also smaller than a lot of the other placed I had visited in Europe. I found it interesting that the Doge was actually a noble elected by the other nobles. Venice has also worked very hard throughout history to seperate themselves from Rome. The Doge had 6 assistants and there were 10 security council members, almost like the FBI. Venice also had a senate.
The Secret Itineraries Tour began at 1135 and 10 minutes into the tour my headset broke! The tour guide stated she could not do anything about it. Luckily I ended up not needing it anymore because the tour group was so small. We went through some of the councilmen's offices and then to the jail cell where Casanova (yes, the great lover) was held. I was unaware that Casanova had had an affair with a nun, was a member of the Freemasons, escaped the Venice jail, and wrote a book about all of his experiences. That was the most interesting part of the tour. We also saw the torture chamber, which was basically a big, long rope hanging from the ceiling. After the tour was over, I went back through the palace to ensure I hadn't missed anything cool. I hadn't.
I then ate lunch at an outdoor cafe near the Rialto Bridge.
Next was St Mark's Basilica. The inside was gold and mosaic everywhere. No photos allowed inside. I climbed up the stairs where the horses are located on the balcony. Interestingly, the 4 horses on top of the Basilica are replicas. The original ones are inside to protect them from the weather and corrosion. The horses date back to the 2nd Century!
Browsed around Venice for the remainder of the day.
