The Giants' Staircase

 The Giants' Staircase 

Escalier des Géants 

Die Gigantentreppe 

This is where a new doge was crowned, in a solemn ceremony performed before crowds of spectators Carved by Sansovino in 1565, the two colossal marble statues of Mars and Neptune- symbols of military and naval might-stand guard over a staircase which was designed by Antonio Rizzo and is visually aligned with Porta della Carta giving onto the Piazzetta (on the courtyard side of the Foscari gatewayt is a round archway with alternate bands of Istrian stone and red Verona marble, surmounted by sculptural allegories of the Arts by Antonio Bregno and other Lombard masters) From this position at the top of the staircase one can see the original position on the Foscari arch of Antonio Rizzo's statues of Adam and Eve, now in the Chamber of the Great Council; within the loggia itself, opposite the stairs, one can also see an elegant plaque by Alessandro Vittoria which records the 1574 visit to Venice by Henri II of France. 

To the right of the Giant's Staircase is the Senators' Staircase, which gives access to the courtyard of the same name, beyond which one passes through the Foscari porch to leave the Palace by the gothic Porta della Carta. 

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Hier wurde, zwischen den beiden kolossalen Statuen mars und Neptun, von Sansovino 1565 erschaffen, Symbol der Macht von Venedig über Wasser und Land, der Doge feierlich unter den Augen zahlreicher Gäste gekrönt. Die Gigantentreppe, von Antonio Rizzo entworfen, ist optisch mit der Porta della Carta durch