In the environments of the basement and semi-basement, traces of the past, preserved until 1965, can still be seen: the low and massive studded doors with small windows and double bolts, inscriptions, cell numbering, and graffiti on the walls. The route of the prisons, lit up at night in spaces formed by underground corridors and cramped cells occupied by ancient handwritten registers or arranged to evoke the original function, is enriched by projections with themed animations. In the past, it seems that the building designated as the residence of the Venetian rectors coincided with the ancient palacium communis.
After the destruction on July 3, 1510, by the troops of Maximilian of Habsburg, the government moved for the reconstruction of the structure as early as 1515. However, by 1517, the palace still had to be in ruins as Rector Agostino Moro made the site available for the construction of a new cathedral in corpore civitatis, which was never realized.
The reconstruction work undertaken during the tenure of Michele Cappello in 1524 was completed during that of Girolamo da Lezze, and the first rector to return to reside there, in 1533 after the temporary residence in the castle, was Marco Loredan, as learned from his report.
In the mainland domains, the administration of civil and criminal justice was among the duties of the Venetian rectors, aided by a variable number of assessors, that is, jurists graduated in both civil and canon law, only one in the case of Feltre, and by members of the city councils (not always cooperative). Thus, the proximity of a certain number of cells for prisoners awaiting trial to the rector's accommodations proved functional.
