Hall of the Senate
Jacopo Tintoretto and workshop, Jacopo Palma il Giovane and others (Tintoretto 1518 to 1594; Palma il Giovane 1548 to 1628) · 1580s to about 1595
The Senate was the real engine of Venetian government. About two hundred men met in this room to decide on war and peace, on trade, taxes and foreign policy, and the Venetians called it the Sala dei Pregadi, the room of those who are invited, because in the early days senators were summoned by personal request. Rows of benches once lined the walls below the paintings, and the Doge and his councillors sat on the raised tribune at the end. The room is larger and more sombre than the Collegio next door, with deep reds and heavy gold that suit a body that debated late into the night.
The ceiling was designed to match the Collegio, with a great central canvas by Tintoretto's workshop in which Venice, seated among the gods of the sea, receives the homage of Neptune and the tributes of the ocean. Around it, smaller panels by Tintoretto's assistants and by Palma il Giovane show allegories of the state and its virtues. On the wall above the tribune, look for the huge canvas of the Dead Christ adored by Doges Pietro Lando and Marcantonio Trevisan, painted by Tintoretto's studio. The other walls carry scenes of Doges kneeling before Christ and the Virgin, a reminder that the state presented its politics as a form of piety.
The decoration was carried out after the fire of 1574 and continued into the fifteen nineties. Two large clocks face each other on the walls: one shows the hours, the other the phases of the moon and the signs of the zodiac, and they were installed so that senators could keep track of time during long sessions. A memorable detail is the small door in the corner that leads to the rooms of the Council of Ten, the secretive body that watched over the security of the Republic and, on occasion, over the senators themselves.
Did You Know? The Senate room's two clocks let senators see the hour and the phase of the moon at the same time without leaving their seats.
Unlock the Full Guide
Read every room and listen to every work in all museums with premium.