Doge's Palace and Prisons

Overview

As well as being the seat of government and the official residence of the ruler, the Doge's Palace was also the centre of Venetian administration, internal security and, most infamously - the criminal justice system. 

This second lecture considers the chamber of the Council of Ten, Venice's high-powered security committee, and also takes a behind-the-scenes look in the palace, from the notorious "pozzi" (pits) prison cells in the basement, through to the prisons in the attics called the "piombi" - where Giacomo Casanova was held in relative comfort before he famously escaped. 

We will also cross the renowned Bridge of Sighs to the Prigioni Nuove - the new prison block - ingeniously designed in the1590s by Antonio da Ponte to replace insanitary and insecure facilities, with impregnable security and different grades of cells to respond to different categories of prisoner. 

Join Venetian expert Dr Susan Steer for an eye-opening look at how the justice system operated in the Venetian Republic, and how it shaped the architecture of Venice's most esteemed palace.