Built in the second half of the 14th century in white Istrian stone and pink marble, the Doge’s Palace in Venice, Italy, was the seat of the great Venetian Republic. The beautiful architecture of the Gothic building is a direct reflection of the structure Venetian government. From its broad arches on the ground level representing Venice’s popular assembly, to the smaller trefoil pointed arches of the next level representing the hereditary senate of Venice, to the fenestrated wall of the top level reflecting the residence of the Doge, who was the embodiment of the Venetian state. While the exterior of the building is in a great state of conservation, a major fire in 1577 destroyed a majority of the palace’s original medieval interior decoration. Buona visita!