Venice: The Bridge of Sighs by sandra46

Photography • Architecture • posted on Feb 02, 2014

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Description

The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: Ponte dei Sospiri) is a bridge made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It was built in 1602. 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. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. In addition, little could be seen from inside the Bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows. Wikipedia writes that according to a local legend lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the Bridge of Sighs as the bells of St Mark's belltower toll. I never heard of it, and I lived in Venice for more than 20 years: it looks something invented by the Tourist Board. The name "Bridge of Sighs" has since been applied by association to other similar covered bridges around the world, including Oxford and Cambridge in Britain. In the foreground there is the Ponte della Paglia, or Bridge of the Straw, because here were moored boats full of straw. a habit the Republic tried to forbid. The Bridge of the Straw connects St. Mark's Small Square (Piazzetta) with the Riva degli Schiavoni, which takes its name from the merchants' ships moored there, coming from Dalmatia once called Schiavonia or Slavonia, at that time part of the Republic of Venice. The Schiavoni (a general name for Serbs, Croatians and Black Valachs) also formed part of the Venetian army. Thanks for your kind comments.

Comments (38)

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Faemike55

11:09AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

Wonderful capture and cool history lesson

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virginiese

11:10AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

wonderful capture of this famous bridge.

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Jean_C

11:18AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

Superb capture of this splendid architecture of Venice! Thanks for the interesting infos.

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drifterlee

11:30AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

Beautiful bridge, Sandra! How nice to live in Venice!!

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durleybeachbum

11:31AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

I never knew the history before, Fascinating!

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Celart

11:36AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

Loving this soft light. Really nicely done

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Leije

11:46AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

Magnificent capture, splendid in full size ! Thanks for the infos, too !

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wysiwig

11:53AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

Such an exquisite structure for such a grim purpose. I really like the new technique you are using. The hyper-realism in this image is stunning.

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jayfar

11:54AM | Sun, 02 February 2014

This is a really beautiful shot and thank you for the information Sandra - all new to me.

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AidanaWillowRaven

12:47PM | Sun, 02 February 2014

Ach! What I wouldn't give to visit ...

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Radar_rad-dude

12:56PM | Sun, 02 February 2014

A wonderful photo and presentation, Sandra! Also a most informative history! Bravo and many fine kudos for sharing!

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1358

1:27PM | Sun, 02 February 2014

you live in a world the rest of us only dream of... thanks for letting us in!

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magnus073

2:52PM | Sun, 02 February 2014

Sandra, first of all allow me to say how thrilled I was to see you continue the series on Venice. I very much enjoyed seeing the Bridge Of Sighs, as well as reading about the rich history behind it. As always you did a splendid job on providing us with a vast amount of information to bring the scene to life. I especially enjoyed also learning about Ponte della Pagliathe in the foreground you pointed out.

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