Doge's Palace (Scala dei Giganti)

Venice · Italy · Palace

Doge Marin Falier was beheaded on the stair where doges were crowned. His portrait is painted over with a black veil — and he is said to walk headless.

On 17 April 1355 Marin Falier was beheaded on the Giants' Staircase in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace, the same stair on which doges were otherwise crowned. He was nearly eighty and had held office only a few months when he was accused of plotting to make himself sole ruler — the only doge in the republic's history condemned for high treason. In the Hall of the Great Council, where the doges' portraits run along the wall, his place is filled by a painted black veil stating that this is the place of Marin Falier, beheaded for his crimes. Legend never let him go: the headless doge and the nobles who conspired with him are said to have held their night meetings behind the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, where his grave once lay.

FAQ

Where is Doge's Palace (Scala dei Giganti) located?

Doge's Palace (Scala dei Giganti) is in Venedig, Italy.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.