Today we depart for Venice!
St. Mark's Square - the principal public square of Venice, where it is generally simply known as "the Piazza". The Piazzeta, the "little Piazza", is an extension of the Piazza. These two spaces together form the social, religious, and political center of Venice.
A remark, often attributed to Napoleon, calls the Piazza the "drawing room of Europe". It is one of the few great urban spaces where human voices prevail over the sounds of motorized traffic.
We will then see the Clock Tower and the Bridge of Sighs (above).
The enclosed bridge is made of limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in Doge's Palace. It was designed by Antoni Contino and built in 1602. The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view convicts would have before their imprisonment. The bridge's name, given by Lord Byron, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the windows before being taken down to their cells.
We then proceed to Doge's Palace, the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice.
The current palace was largely constructed from 1309 to 1424, designed perhaps by Filippo Calendario. It replaced earlier fortified buildings of which relatively little is known. The palace was badly damaged by a fire on December 20, 1577. In the subsequent rebuilding work, it was decided to respect the original Gothic style, despite the submission of a neo-classical alternative design by the influential Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. However, there are some classical features - for example, since the 16th century, the palace has been linked to the prison by the Bridge of Sighs.
The building is preserved as a museum. Inside are housed paintings by Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese.
Our fifth day in Europe ends here, but if there is some free time, we get to go on a gondola ride too! :)
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