Entering the Palazzo Ducale at any time

Overview

Ever wanted to get inside Venice’s Palazzo Ducale without Leonardo’s Flying Machine? I’ll show you how to penetrate this supposedly “impenetrable” Palazzo.

Introduction

Venezia’s Palazzo Ducale. A gorgeous and imposing example of Venetian Gothic architecture, home to the Doge of the Serene Republic. In Assassin’s Creed II, the Palazzo is supposedly ‘impossible to get inside’ – guards stand outside the locked main gate, metal spikes prevent access from the roof of the adjacent Basilica and no ways to climb up the walls…

Well, that last one isn’t entirely true.

While there are other methods to get inside the Palazzo, (such as using a “Super Jump” glitch, and making a very precise wall jump from the dome of the Basilica), I find this method to be the simplest. That being said, it does take a few tries to get right.

Once you get the technique down, you’ll never have to rely on Leonardo’s Flying Machine to infiltrate the place again.

Getting to the Palazzo

First things first: If you want to get into the Palazzo, you need to be able to get there. The San Marco area of Venice, where the Palazzo is located, is only unlocked in Sequence 8 – so if you’ve just arrived in Venice (Sequence 7), you’ll have to complete that sequence first.

Once that’s out of the way, head to the Palazzo. I’ve highlighted it on the provided map in red. Also note that the Palazzo is a restricted area. If a guard sees you loitering near it, he’ll get suspicious and investigate you. So move quickly, or take out the guards before you climb.

In any case, the Palazzo is on the waterfront near the Piazza San Marco. You should be able to find it easily without a map – get to the rooftops and head towards the tall brick Campanile (bell tower). The Palazzo Ducale is right next to it.

If you have unlocked the fast travel station for the San Marco district, then selecting that Fast Travel point will have you arrive right in front of the Palazzo – and very near where you need to climb it.

Get to the south side of the Palazzo – the one facing the water, and head to the bridge heading towards the Castello district (to the east).

Climbing the Palazzo [Part 1]

Ready to climb the Palazzo? Don’t be intimidated by the Venetian Gothic architecture, you can climb this easily. No matter what Antonio said in “If At First You Don’t Succeed…”, you don’t need to be a bird to get in. It just takes a little finesse.

Make your way to this bridge, to the right of the Palazzo. Can you see that small wall joining the bridge to that column? You need to get on top of it.

Once you’re on top of it, walk slowly towards the pillar – so that you stand on top of the sphere at the end of the wall. Make sure to face the pillar, and not the ground or the canal. If you positioned yourself correctly, Ezio should be pressing up against the pillar with both his hands against it. Now comes the next step.

If you positioned yourself correctly, then by pressing the “forwards” key while holding the right mouse button down, Ezio should haul himself up onto the little outcropping of the pillar. But don’t dawdle!

Keep pressing the forwards key while holding the right mouse button down, and Ezio should run up the next bit of the wall. He should automatically grab onto the railings above him…

…Like so.

And there you have it. The most difficult part of the climb over! Of course, if you still want guidance scaling the rest of the Palazzo, then check out the next section of the guide.

Climbing the Palazzo [Part 2]

The rest of this climb is pretty straightforward. Run up the side of one of the tall pillars, and climb up to one of the large windows.

Climb-leap from the window to the edge of the Palazzo’s roof. Be careful! Archers patrol this rooftop and unless you deal with them, they will get suspicious and fire on you!

Once you’ve dealt with any obstacles… there you have it! You have climbed atop the Palazzo that was meant to be impenetrable. Without any help from Leonardo. From here, you can take in the sights from the Doge’s home, or go down and explore the courtyard. But be careful – guards also patrol the courtyard, though they should easily go down in a fight.

Video Guide

In case the written section and screenshots weren’t too clear, here’s how it’s done in-game.

The trickiest part is learning where to press against the pillar. Then it’s all about the timing.

Misc. and Trivia

A few bits of trivia that might be of some interest to you.

• You can use this method to climb the Palazzo during the “If At First You Don’t Succeed…” mission, where you scout out the Palazzo with Antonio. You can’t progress that way, however.
• You can go inside Doge Mocenigo’s room, where he played chess with Carlo. The chessboard still remains there, years after his assassination.
• The Palazzo was designed to be not just the Doge’s (the leader of Venice) palace, but also his prison. Doges were rarely allowed out of the Palazzo once elected. Speaking of the Doges…
• …They didn’t have much real power. They couldn’t meet foreign ambassadors alone, he couldn’t leave the Palazzo as and when he wanted, he couldn’t take holidays… and all of his mail was read by the various councils and committees to ensure he wasn’t corrupt.
• The impressive St. Mark’s Basilica next door was the Doge’s private chapel – there was even a corridor linking the Palazzo and the Basilica. It wasn’t until the 1800s, with the demise of the Republic, that the Basilica became a church for the Venetians.