Travel Theme: Bridges in Venice

This week’s inspiration comes from Ailsa’s travel blog Where’s my Backpack?
Having just been to Venice, we had the perfect excuse for this post, as there are over 400 bridges in Venice.

The most famous bridge of all is Ponte di Rialto (Rialto’s Bridge) which spans the Grand Canal. With its distinctive construction, it is known and recognized the world over.

Rialto Bridge

Another famous bridge is Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), the only bridge in Venice which is covered, as it was connecting the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) with the local prison, so that prisoners could be taken to/from Court without being able to escape. From Wikipedia:

Bridge of Sigh (Ponte dei sospiri)

The enclosed bridge connects the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace.
The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells.
A local legend says that lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the Bridge Of Sighs.

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And here a few more bridges which we walked on or near.
Read also our previous post “Unique Venice and the “Dalmatian” connection.
Click on images to enlarge.
Arrivederci Venezia!

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