A fascinating contrast to St Mark's. As if to emphasise their
invulnerability to foreign invasion, the Doges built their Palace
in a light, insubstantial, Gothic style, with delicate, patterned
brickwork. The carving of the capitals drove Ruskin into paroxysms
of delight. The interior, with its endless council chambers and
acres of fresco, is very daunting, although the prison from which
Casanova escaped still produces a frisson of excitement.
