NINE
They poured in from every direction, along every canal and calle, filling the piazza with their energy and their somber robes, stark among the bright-colored civilians like storm clouds against a brilliant blue sky. Every member of the Venetian government had been called to this early morning meeting and the hundreds of men of the Maggior Consiglio streamed toward the Ducal Palace.
This building, this complex, served as the focal point of all Venetian life and culture; every Palazzo Ducale in history had stood on this very spot, where the waters of St. Mark’s Basin met the land. From the desolate and dark structure built as a massive defensive fortress over eight centuries ago, the grandiose and glorious palace now rose in triumph over the lagoon and the glittering city Venice had b
