born to women of lower status were banned, as were, from 1498 on, nobles who followed an ecclesiastical career. The process culminated in the establishment, in 1506 and 1526, of records of births and marriages of the nobility. Kept and maintained by the , this was the famous 'Golden Book' () of the Venetian nobility. At this point, the council reached its maximum size of 2746 members. The effect of the provisions of the Serrata had increased dramatically the number of members. In the sixteenth century, it was common for up to 2095 patricians to have the right to sit in the Ducal Palace. There was an obvious difficulty in managing such a body. The enlargement of the body also led to the need for a larger meeting space. This need was identified already by Pietro Gradenigo, and a hall was enlarged for this purpose in the buildings lining the Molo, the embankment alongside the Doge's Palace. As the Council continued to increase in size in the early 14th century, and other magistracies were added to the government, it was decided that a new wing of the Doge's Palace be built alongside the Molo in order to house them. Due to the arrival of the Black Death, the membership of the Council declined, but building of the new hall continued, with decoration starting in 1365. It was not until , however, that the new hall of the Great Council started being used by it. The hall was destroyed in the fire of 20 December 1577, in which the Doge's Palace suffered so much damage that for a time it was considered to tear it down and rebuild it to a new design. In the end, it was decided to restore the building, and during this time, until 30 September 1578, the Great Council met in a storage shed in the Arsenal of Venice. In some rare cases, facing severe economic difficulties and dangers, access to the Great Council was open to new families. By means of lavish gifts to the state, this was the case at the time of the War of Chioggia and the War of Candia, when, to support the enormous cost of the wars, new wealthy families were admitted. Another peculiarity was the creation over time of a division within the nobility itself, that is, families who were able in time to keep intact or to increase