(Detail)The ceiling of the Scala D'oro (Golden Staircase) from the Doge's Palace in Venice, Italy. Its two most visible façades look towards the Venetian Lagoon and St. Mark's Square, or rather the Piazzetta. The use of arcading in the lower stories produces an interesting 'gravity-defying' effect. There is also effective use of color contrasts. It replaced earlier fortified buildings of which relatively little is known. Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon created the Porta della Carta in 1442, a monumental late-gothic gate on the Piazzetta side of the palace. The palace was badly damaged by a fire on December 20, 1577.

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