Courtyard of the Doge's Palace

A topographical cabinet card showing the courtyard of the Doge's Palace in Venice, looking towards St Mark's Basilica. Built in Venetian Gothic style, the palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic of Venice. Since 1923 the building has been a museum.

Photographed by Carlo Ponti of Venice.

Carlo Ponti studied photography in Paris in the 1840s. In 1852, he obtained a license to produce and sell photographs in Venice. He ran the first of the big photographic businesses in the city, producing albums with architectural views of great artistic sensitivity. He was also the inventor of camera lenses suitable for panoramic photography.