Bridge of Sighs

Bridge of Sighs
Ponte dei Sospiri
The Bridge of Sighs in November 2015
Coordinates 45°26′02.22″N 12°20′27.24″E / 45.4339500°N 12.3409000°E / 45.4339500; 12.3409000
Crosses Rio di Palazzo
Characteristics
Design Arch bridge
Material Istrian stone
Total length 11m
History
Designer Antonio Contin
Construction start 1600 (year)
Construction end 1603 (year)

The Bridge of Sighs (Italian and Venetian: Ponte dei Sospiri) is a bridge located in Venice, northern Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It was designed by Antonio Contino (whose uncle Antonio da Ponte had designed the Rialto Bridge) and was built in 1600.

Etymology

The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge's name, given by Lord Byron as a translation from the Italian "Ponte dei sospiri" in the 19th century,[1][2] 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.[3][4]

Similar bridges

The name "Bridge of Sighs" has since been applied by association to other bridges and around the world, as well as to other structures. See Bridge of Sighs (disambiguation).

In culture

The 1861 opera Le pont des soupirs by Jacques Offenbach features the bridge, as does the song "Venice" by Gibraltarian band Melon Diesel.

Bridge of Sighs is also both a 1974 album and song by English musician Robin Trower.

References

  1. ↑ "Five Remarkable Bridges that are more than 400-Years-Old - History Channel on Foxtel". 21 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Byron, George Gordon Byron Baron (4 January 1863). "The Poetical Works of Lord Byron: with Life of the Author and Copious Notes. Beautifully Illustrated. Family Edition". Milner&Sowerby – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Planet, Lonely. "Ponte dei Sospiri in Venice, Italy".
  4. ↑ "The Grim History of the Bridge of Sighs in Venice". 20 January 2017.
  • Bridge of Sighs, Venice
  • Bridge of Sighs at Structurae
  •  "Bridge of Sighs, The". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.

Coordinates: 45°26′02.6″N 12°20′27.2″E / 45.434056°N 12.340889°E / 45.434056; 12.340889

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