Just how bad were the prisons at the Doge's Palace?

18/10/2025 20 min

Listen "Just how bad were the prisons at the Doge's Palace?"

Episode Synopsis


The Palazzo Ducale dominates the view as your vaporetto approaches the San Marco stop. The huge building is an example of Venetian Gothic architecture, all pointed arches and quatrefoils. It's hard to believe that two prisons lie within its bulk, with a third inside the pristine white building alongside it.

Tourists might be the only people who visit these prisons now, trotting along the corridors as part of organised tours. Yet in bygone centuries, notorious reputations clung to the cells, and people feared being slung into them. The fearsome reputation of this prison may not have outlived the building, but they certainly outlived the Venetian Republic.

Let's explore this reputation, some legends associated with the Palace and its prisons, and even learn of a daring escape from one of them - by none other than Casanova - in this week's episode!

Find the images and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/doges-palace-prison/

Hear my interview on How Haunted: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bonus-episode-ghostlore-with-dr-icy-sedgwick/id1639335870?i=1000730532826

Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/

Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595

Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick

Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore

Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop

Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7

Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick

Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social

'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/