BRIDGE OF SIGHS

Description

Essentials about the Bridge of Sighs in brief

Next to the Rialto Bridge, it is the most famous bridge in Venice and definitely worth a look: the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri). It is a connecting bridge that links the Doge’s Palace with the new prison, spanning the Rio di Palazzo, a canal about eight meters wide. The Bridge of Sighs got its name only in the 19th century, in the idea that the prisoners on their way to prison could take a look at freedom from here for the last time with a sigh through the barred windows.

The history of the Bridge of Sighs

The narrow, eleven meter long, white limestone bridge was designed by Antonio Contin, a grandson of Antonio da Ponte, the builder of the Rialto Bridge. Construction began in 1600, and the bridge was completed in 1602/03. From the Doge’s Palace, those sentenced by Venetian courts to imprisonment or execution were led across the Bridge of Sighs to the prison rooms. Incidentally, two paths separated by a wall lead across the bridge, preventing the view of prisoners being led away from the prison to those being brought before the court.

Visiting the Bridge of Sighs

There are three ways to take a closer look at the Bridge of Sighs. If you don’t want to spend money, you can get a very good view of the Bridge of Sighs from the Ponte della Paglia, which is located to the south (as long as it is not completely crowded with tourists). If you also want to see the Bridge of Sighs from the inside, you will inevitably have to take part in a guided tour of the Doge’s Palace, during which you will also get to see the bridge and the prison. Undoubtedly the most romantic way to approach the bridge is to take a ride on the gondola – ideally at sunset. Legend has it that a couple who kiss under the bridge on a gondola ride at sunset will be granted eternal love and bliss. Of course, if you’re overwhelmed with romance, you might as well let out a sigh.

Speaking of romance, one of the world’s greatest romantics, the infamous Giacomo Casanova, once passed the Bridge of Sighs on his way to prison. Casanova, by the way, was the only prisoner to escape from the prison’s notorious lead chambers.