There is no definite information of how it was this building that stood in place of the palace, but it was a kind of fortress with massive walls and towers. It was isolated by a canal and there were public post offices, the courthouse and the prison, the residence of the Doge, stables, armories, and more. The structure we know today was built during the fourteenth and fifteenth century and today the building is the most attractive and evocative of the Venetian Gothic architecture, though it was constantly changed during the following centuries, with input from the enlargement , restoration and landscaping.

Antonio da Ponte and architects as Andrea Palladio, Titian and Veronese, as painters, were called to the work of the interior. Porta della Carta, by Bartolomeo Bon, takes you to the monumental Renaissance-Byzantine style courtyard, built in the 16th - 17th century, very elegant, solemn and magnificent. Here we find the Scala dei Giganti by Antonio Rizzo, the symbol par excellence of the United Republic.

The two giants of Sansovino flanking the staircase are Mars and Neptune, which are the omnipotence on earth and the sea, the Serenissima. Here, on this staircase, leading to the balcony inside the main floor, the ducal coronation took place. On the floor of the lodges there were a number of minor areas for the administration and the services of the building, in addition to the Lower Ducal Chancellery , part of the archive.

Here is also set the Hall of Censors, with paintings by Tintoretto and the Avogaria Hall of the Commune ( the lawyers for the municipality), that allow access to the Bridge of Sighs. On the first floor, which is accessible through the Scala d'Oro, the ducal apartments and other halls were located. The Grand Council is the main hall of the palace, situated on the corner of the pier and square. I t is very large, of about 53 to 25 m and 12 m in height: it had to accommodate the members of the Great Council, which had more than 1200 people.

The hall was decorated by Veronese, Tintoretto and the young Palma. The entire back wall behind the Heaven throne is the largest canvas in the world, a work by Tintoretto.