Jane KnightAug 12, 2026 – 5.00amWe’re alone in the Doge’s Palace. As the evening bells ring out from St Mark’s Campanile, just nine of us stand in the cavernous Chamber of the Great Council, built for 2000 Venetian noblemen, gazing at Tintoretto’s immense Paradise beneath a blaze of gilded and painted ceilings. There are no jostling tour groups, no selfie-obsessed tourists wandering in search of the perfect photo.At the top of the Golden Staircase, we drift through empty fresco-adorned rooms where every ceiling demands another craned neck. Later, crossing the Bridge of Sighs, we stop to peer through its stone lattice bricks at the crowds surging below.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles