The Bridges of Venice
Do you know how many bridges Venice has?
Plenty! Four hundred and thirty-five have been counted. They connect the one hundred and twenty-one islands that form Venice. You surely know the most famous ones, those that cross the Grand Canal… Rialto Bridge, Accademia Bridge, Scalzi Bridge and the modern Calatrava Bridge (the Constitution Bridge).
I want to tell you a bit about those bridges with unusual names which are worthy of attention, such as Ponte delle Tette (the Boobs Bridge) in the San Polo district, through which you could once access the brothel area of Venice. So called because the prostitutes used to appear at the windows displaying "their merchandise".
Ponte dei Pugni (the Fists Bridge) on the Saint Barnaba canal, once without parapets, because it was where real fights took place between rival families belonging to different districts. The goal was to conquer the opposite bank by crossing the bridge, but very often the participants ended up falling into the canal.
Near the Fondamenta degli Ormesini, not far away from the hotel there is the Ponte dei Lustraferi (iron cleaner bridge), so called because nearby there was the workshop of an artisan that cleaned the gondolas’ irons.
A small architectural jewel in baroque style and Istrian stone is the Bridge of Sighs. It was crossed by the accused, that after being condemned by the magistrates of the court of the Doge's Palace, they were conducted to the prisons and as they passed, they looked at Venice sighing.
Very close to the Doge's Palace is the Ponte della Paglia (Bridge of the straw). Its name derives from the boats full of straw that moored below. The straw was used to replace the straw mattresses of the prisoners.
Near the street of the Mercerie you can find Ponte dei Bareteri (Bridge of hatters). It owes its name to the cap manufacturers that were once very numerous in the area.
The Ponte de la Crea (Bridge of Clay) stands in the Cannaregio district, the hotel’s quarter, where there were large deposits of clay with which Venetian bricks were made.
These are just some of the bridges that you will find walking around, but there are many others to discover.
My favourite one... Ponte della Libertà... the one that takes you always takes me home...
Written by Margherita Pasotto
