Venice: the bridges of the City

The historic center of Venice includes 121 islands which are connected to the mainland thanks to 435 bridges.

There are several bridges in the city: along the Grand Canal (including the world-famous Rialto Bridge), in Cannaregio, in San Marco (such as the Bridge of Sighs), in Giudecca, in Murano, Burano and Torcello. All of these bridges are made with wood, iron or stone and some of them are private property, so they can’t be visited. Moreover, because of their historic, artistic and architectural importance, they really deserve a little tour.

Who participated in the Venice Marathon at least one time, jogging up and down for sure has already "appreciate" the bridges which led the runners for ten kilometers through the city until the finish line!

Now, let’s discover some of the most notorious bridges.

 

The Rialto Bridge was built in 1591, but its origins as one of the most important places in Venice - not only from the architectural point of view - are much older. Right here, in fact, the first nucleus of the city was created.

In 1180 a.C. there was built the first wooden bridge (projected by Nicolò Barattieri) which crossed the Grand Canal, unfortunately the architectural work collapsed in 1444 and it was rebuilt more than one century later.

In 1588 Antonio da Ponte designed the current Rialto Bridge.

For a long time this bridge was the only one which crossed the Grand Canal. Only in 1854 there was built the Accademia Bridge and then, in the twentieth century, the Scalzi Bridge.

Some curiosities: the arch of the Rialto Bridge is supported by 6,000 oak posts on each bank; it is 48 meters long and 7.5 meters high. On its sides there are pedestrian streets and shops: the bridge is still nowadays an historical and commercial point of the city, in fact it host the most important market of Venice.

But it’s not just this: it’s also a great base whence you will be able to admire the Grand Canal!

 

Contrary to what is commonly thought, the name of this famous bridge is not about the romantic sighs of lovers who here swear eternal love.

The sighs, in fact, were of the death row inmates who crossed the bridge before being taken to prison.

This bridge as Rialto Bridge is one of the most famous and photographed bridges of Venice. 

 

In the nineteenth century the idea to built another bridge which should have crossed Grand Canal was much discussed. It was the engineer Alfed Neville who projected the bridge which was opened in 1854 and demolished in 1933 for safety reasons. 

Therefore, it was thought to build in just 37 days a "provisional" wooden bridge which was designed by Eugenio Mozzi: the quotation marks are necessary, because still today everybody can admire that wooden bridge.

 

The Scalzi Bridge takes its name from "Santa Maria di Nazareth degli Scalzi" (the church in front of the bridge), but it is best known as the Bridge of the Railway because it was built after the inauguration of the railway station projected by Neville in 1846. Also this bridge deteriorated and it was rebuilt on a project by Mozzi in 1934.

 

Among the bridges of Venice, the Constitution Bridge is the most recent and the most modern one. It was designed by the famous architect Santiago Calatrava. The bridge was commissioned in 1997 and its construction has been revised and discussed several times until its opening in 2008.

 

Moreover, in Venice you will discover also the Ponte dei Pugni, Ponte del Diavolo, Ponte delle Tette, Ponte dei Morti, Ponte della Donna onesta, Ponte degli Incurabili, Ponte della Malvasia, Ponte dei Miracoli, Ponte Carlo Goldoni.

As you can see in Venice there are many charming and history-soaked bridge: come and discover them!