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.