At the far end of the Great Council hall is a curious spot that one has to know about to find. In the line-up of Doges' portraits around the room, there is one space that is painted with a black curtain. The portrait of 'Doge Marin Falier' once occupied this space.Because of a personal affront to his wife by a young nobleman, and other perceived insults, the old doge hatched a conspiracy to rid Venice of the younger members of the noble class. He would then be proclaimed Prince of Venice, effectively staging a coup. The plot was foiled; he and others were arrested. Falier was executed. Ten years after his death, permission was granted to remove his portrait from the frieze in the Great Council Hall. The black veil painted in its place bears the words, in Latin: 'Here is the place of Marin Falier, beheaded for his crimes.' He was, in effect, wiped out of Venetian history, and a reminder that no one, not even a doge, was exempt/immune from the law.
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