We’re in Venice, Italy. Long before there was an “Italy,” there was an independent, powerful Venice. Its elected leader was called the “Doge.” Today we’re going to pay a visit to the Doge’s palace.
The Doge’s palace is the unmistakable building facing the lagoon at Piazza San Marco. The first palace built at this location resembled a village enclosed by gigantic defensive walls. Like any building that’s existed for a thousand years, it has undergone major changes along the way.
Wealth on Display
The façade of the building we see today took shape in the 14th century, when Venice was coming into its golden age. From the beginning, the palace housed facilities for government functions as well as being the residence of the Doge.
Public rooms in the palace were designed to show off Venice’s incredible wealth. Like Versailles in France or Schönbrunn Palace in Austria, these rooms epitomize over-the-top opulence on steroids.
My favorite room is the much less elaborate Map Room, where two huge globes are housed. The globes show the world as well as they could figure it out 500 years ago. That was an exciting time in Venice, as you may recall – ideas from ancient Greece were taking hold, books were starting to become available to regular folks – everyone’s ideas about everything were changing.
That was when Venice was in its heyday, but the Venetian hot streak was about to come to an end. Christopher Columbus had just discovered the New World. And unfortunately for Venice, Vasco da Gama had just succeeded in sailing to India by going around the south end of Africa.
Portugal and soon the rest of Europe figured out how to trade with The East without going through Venice. Be that as it may, the globes were really neat.
The Piombi
The palace housed two prisons. One, called the “Piombi” because of its roof made of lead tiles, was on the top floor of the building. They held short-term prisoners and those awaiting trial in the Piombi. Because of its lead-tile roof, the Piombi was freezing cold in the winter and burning hot in the summer.
The most famous prisoner ever held in the Piombi was Giacomo Casanova. Yes – THAT Casanova. Born in Venice in 1725, he and his family lived all over Europe. He resided in France for quite awhile, but he eventually returned to Venice.
Casanova was a wily rascal who had a habit of getting himself into trouble. He found himself in prison more than once, usually for messing around with the wrong politician’s wife, but he had a habit of getting out as fast as he got in.
He liked to gamble, and apparently did pretty well, thanks to having an excellent memory and being good at math. Oh – he was also known to be quite a cheater, which probably helped his odds on occasion.
In those days, when arrested for committing a crime in Venice, the authorities imprisoned you without informing you of the charges. Then after the “trial,” they didn’t tell you how much time you had to serve.
Casanova’s sentence was five years for the crime of having amorous affairs with married women. Chances are, he got caught messing around with the wife of someone important, and that’s what got him thrown into the Piombi.
Casanova’s Escape
We know Casanova spent time in the Piombi because he escaped and later wrote about it. He published “Story of My Flight,” in 1787. He and another prisoner held in the Piombi, a friar, jointly came up with the escape. (I wonder what the friar’s offense was?)
One night, Casanova and the friar managed to make a hole in the lead-tile ceiling. After climbing out onto the roof, they made their way to a rooftop window where they climbed back inside. They had entered some administrative offices.
They made their way undetected down through the palace to the entry hall and to the palace gates. Locked. “Dannazione!” (Damn!)
They flagged down a passer-by, and managed to convince him that they were visitors who had accidentally got locked inside the palace. Would he please call a guard to come and let them out?
Incredibly, the stranger came back with a guard who opened the gates and let them out. The guard probably apologized to them. Casanova was wily indeed!
The palace’s second prison is on the ground floor of one wing of the building. It’s called the “Pozzi,” (the Wells). As one might infer from the name, the Pozzi was not a good place to be.
The Pozzi were cells in a dark, dank miserable space lit only by oil lamps. Ventilation holes were few. Long-term prisoners did their time in the Pozzi.
The Pozzi may have been a bad place to stay, but it sounds like an interesting place to visit, eh? Let’s go there next.
To be continued…
Note: The photo of the Doges palace at the top of this post is from fullsuitcase.com
