Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Scala dei Giganti

Scala dei Giganti, Giants’ Staircase by Antonio Rizzo, statues of Mars and Neptune by Jacopo Sansovino, Courtyard of the Doge's Palace, Venice

Scala dei Giganti (Giants’ Staircase) by Antonio Rizzo, 1491
With statues of Mars and Neptune by Jacopo Sansovino, 1567
Courtyard of the Doge's Palace
Venice, September 2013

“Used for formal entrances, the Giants’ Staircase is guarded by Sansovino’s two colossal statues of Mars and Neptune, which represents Venice’s power by land and by sea. The rounded arch dedicated to Doge Francesco Foscari (1423-1457) alternates bands of Istrian stone and red Verona marble and links the Giants’ Staircase to the Porta della Carta through which visitors today leave the palace. Members of the Senate gathered before government meetings in the Senator’s Courtyard, to the right of the Giants’ Staircase.” (Palazzo Ducale, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia)

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