A Doge's Life

'Senator in Senate, Citizen in City' were his titles, though they might have added Prince of Clothes, for his wardrobe of gold and silver damask robes and scarlet silks. It’s not surprising that one of the most lavish rooms in the Doge's quarters of the Palazzo Ducale is the Sala degli Scarlatti, the dressing room, with a gilded ceiling, a chimney by Tullio and Antonio Lombardo, and a relief of the Virgin and Doge Leonardo Loredan by Pietro Lombardo.

Once the doge was dressed, the rest of his procession would fall in line, including all the paraphernalia of Byzantine royalty: a naked sword, six silver trumpets, a damask umbrella, a chair, cushion, candle, and eight standards bearing the Lion of St Mark in four colours, symbolizing peace, war, truce and allegiance.