English
The Palazzo Ducale is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city of Venice and it´s located in the Piazza San Marco. Its Gothic style make it incomparable and it has two main façades, one that looks towards the main square in the city and the other one towards a beautiful lagoon.
This palace is very famous because it was inhabited by dukes and because it was also the headquarters of the court of justice and of the Republican prison. Although what strikes the tourists the most are its beautiful façades with various columns and decorations made out of white and pink marble. There are also sculptures that represent, for example, Salomon´s Trial and Adam and Eve among other beautiful ones.
The most beautiful thing of all is seeing how the building changes colour as the sun goes up or down, because it reflects on the marble and it makes the palace turn golden. At one side of the entrance to the building there´s the “Scala dei Giganti” (Stairs of giants), which is the stairway that has various sculptures by Sansovino.
There are myths surrounding this palace and they´re very interesting to know. They tell the legend that when it worked as a prison, the prisoners, before being taken to their death had the possibility of saving themselves if they managed to go around one of the columns of the palace without slipping. This is called the “giro de la colonna” (going around the column) but it was near impossible.
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