(February 5, 2026) Following the completion of an extensive restoration, the Fondazione Musei Civici presents the conservation work carried out on the decorative elements of the large ceiling and the portals of the Room of the Four Doors in Palazzo Ducale. After more than two years of a “didactic open worksite,” launched on November 22, 2023, and completed on January 30, 2026, one of Palazzo Ducale’s most prestigious ceremonial rooms has been reopened to the public. This space, both a symbolic and functional hub of the institutional life of the Serenissima, is particularly sumptuous. It was designed by Andrea Palladio and Giovanni Antonio Rusconi (1576) and features a vaulted ceiling enriched with mural paintings originally executed by Jacopo Tintoretto (1577), as well as four monumental polychrome portals that give the room its name. These portals are crowned by celebrated sculptural groups created by leading masters of late-sixteenth-century Venetian art: Alessandro Vittoria, Girolamo Campagna, Francesco Caselli, and Giulio dal Moro. This particularly elaborate intervention was made possible thanks to the significant contribution of the American non-profit organization Save Venice - €662,000 towards a total investment of €747,000 - supplemented by additional funding activated through the Art Bonus, including support from The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice together with investments by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.
Specifically, the intervention involved the large Roman-style vaulted ceiling, both in its hidden structural components and in its rich decorative apparatus of mural paintings and stuccoes, as well as the stone portals and sculptural groups, the stone-framed windows, and the monochrome painted canvases. The study of the ceiling paintings led to one of the most significant technical discoveries of the project: the works were not executed as frescoes, but with oil paints applied over a ground of gypsum and glue, using a technique akin to canvas painting. This method of execution, compounded by subsequent, not always documented interventions, has over time made the conservation of the surfaces and their legibility more complex.
The work included a detailed mapping of the state of conservation, visual and tactile inspections, and an analytical campaign that made it possible to identify layers added to the original paint layer. The cleaning phase involved the removal of a twentieth-century varnish and several repaintings dating to restorations carried out in the last century, with analytical checks conducted before and after the intervention. Degraded old fillings were also removed, the paint layer consolidated, and the numerous cracks and losses treated. Finally, following extensive iconographic and stylistic comparison with scholars and art history experts, the missing areas and abrasions were reintegrated using watercolors and glazes, to restore a unified and balanced reading of the decorated surfaces.
Preserving our treasures is essential for continuing to tell the world about the beauty and culture of our city. Venice and its monuments live in close contact with residents and visitors who choose it as a place of excellence for their travels. They deserve respect but also protection because of their fragility. We cannot do this alone, and that is why donations from private individuals who love our city as much as we do are fundamental. For this reason, I thank them on behalf of everyone for having restored light, in this case, to the decorative elements of the great ceiling and the portals of the Sala delle Quattro Porte of Palazzo Ducale. I also thank all of the workers of the Fondazione Musei Civici, from the first to the last, who are the primary custodians of our heritage, and those who choose every day to visit these places, which continue to enchant today as they did a thousand years ago. Giorgia Pea, Councillor for Culture: theater and cinema activities
Every restoration, every intervention in our museums, reminds us of how immense, monumental, and at the same time fragile and unique the context in which we operate is: the city of Venice, where the conservation of monuments is a daily challenge. This intervention in particular, due to its scale, variety, and complexity, was a challenge made materially possible by the generosity of new patrons, brought together by the indispensable work of Save Venice, along with vital instruments such as the Art Bonus, which allows companies to become leading actors in restoration projects and to take an active role in the well-being of the community by supporting artistic heritage. As a museum foundation, it is worth recalling that our commitment is to make the best possible use of this generosity, carefully managing resources and initiating and completing projects so that investors can see their commitments fulfilled. Finally, but certainly not least, there are the professionals of the Foundation and external consultants working in the field, without whom none of this would be possible: architects, technicians, restorers, art historians, and the excellent collaboration with the Soprintendenza, which makes it possible to carry out programs efficiently. This is what it means to care for our heritage in a shared and reciprocal way. Mariacristina Gribaudi, President, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia
Save Venice is honored to have preserved the magnificent Room of the Four Doors, a masterpiece of architecture, painting, and sculpture at the heart of Palazzo Ducale. This achievement reflects the dedication and expertise of the conservation teams, who worked in close collaboration with the Fondazione MUVE and the Soprintendenza of Venice. We commend everyone involved for a job well done and extend our deepest gratitude to our lead donors for their generosity: the Manitou Fund through Nora McNeely Hurley; Karin McKinnell Leidel & Peter Leidel; Gucci; The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice; Patricia Nagy Olsen; Meredith Brown, Trustee of the Vail Memorial Trust; the James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation, Inc., and others. Frederick Ilchman, Chairman, Save Venice Inc.
Equally remarkable was the effort made over the two years of work to continue to guarantee access to the room and visibility of its decorations during the intervention. This was achieved through the installation of a visible restoration laboratory, an “open worksite” on the first floor along the museum itinerary, which allowed visitors to observe restorers at work on the canvas paintings that decorate the walls above the room’s four portals.
