After eating pizza slices for lunch on Burano, we caught the 1:26pm double-decker boat to St. Mark’s Square. It was an hour and 15-minute ride. There was no line at the Doge’s Palace so we bought our seniors combination ticket there and went through the museum in two hours. Not all the Doges of Venice lived in this palace. The building was also used by the government of the maritime republic of Venice. The rooms were all very elaborate with heavy gold leaf on carved wood on the ceilings and walls as frames for the paintings of Veronese, Tintoretto, Bassano, etc. The paintings covered every bit of wall and ceiling space. The doorways are marble. We started our tour in the Scala d’ Oro and walked through anterooms, meeting rooms, the Senate Chamber, the Council of Ten rooms (like a supreme court), the Chamber of the Great Council, and the Chamber of Navy Captains. The Bridge of Sighs connected these rooms to the prison next door across a canal. We walked through two of the four floors of the prison and back across the Bridge of Sighs.
We looked at several rooms of 15th to 18th c. armor of all sorts from suits of armor to cross bows to fire arms. I liked the chastity belt that was in one of the cases. It was made of metal and locked in the back with holes for the necessities.
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