On December 20, 1577, a devestating fire swept through the Doge's palace, destroying much of the southern part of the building. The Great Council Chamber and artwork made by notable artists of the day were among the things damaged in the fire. When rebuilding the Doge's palace after the damages, the original gothic design of the building was kept, although some neoclassical elements were incorporated into it. Because there was minimal structural damage due to the fire, the reconstruction was finished by 1580. The picture is by Radomil (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 .(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons. It is free to copy and redistribute.