Venice is a surprisingly romantic city with many cozy buildings and small canals separating them, where a unique atmosphere reigns. The city on the water boasts a huge number of attractions, visiting which tourists often forget about another marvelous feature of Venice - its bridges. We have selected six of the most beautiful and unusual, in our opinion, bridges.
Scalzi Bridge
The Ponte degli Scalzi Bridge, designed by Eugenio Miozzi, is one of the crossings of the Grand Canal. It is this bridge, arriving in Venice, you will be the first to see: it is located in close proximity to the city railway station and connects two areas: Santa Croce and Cannaregio, separated by a canal. Ponte degli Scalzi is translated from Italian as "barefoot bridge". According to one legend, the bridge received this name because beggars lived near it, who did not have enough money even for shoes. The construction of Skaltsi was completed in the 1930s, and since then more than one hundred thousand feet of local residents and tourists have walked on it.
Liberty Bridge
Although this Freedom Bridge (Ponte della Liberta) does not stand out for anything special, be it an interesting story or something else, from the community of its brothers located in Venice, it is still unique for the city in that it connects it with land, but it is with the Mestre district. Created in 1932 by the project of the talented Eugenio Mioci and opened in 1933 by order of Benito Mussolini, the bridge became a symbol of the decline of the fascist dictatorship. It extends for almost four kilometers, which makes it one of the longest, not only in Venice, but throughout Italy.
Rialto Bridge
The Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto) was built back in 1591, it is not surprising that it is considered one of the oldest in Venice. Once upon a time, local merchants, who lived nearby, were trading on it with might and main, unloading merchant ships that arrived from far away with overseas curiosities. Hundreds of years have passed, and life on Rialto is still seething. Tourists always come here to take a photograph from the bridge: breathtaking views open on Rialto.
Bridge of Sighs
Perhaps this bridge can be called one of the most famous in Venice. It was built back in 1602 from white marble, designed by Antonio Contino, whose uncle, by the way, was the author of the Rialto Bridge. Despite its romantic name, the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) has a rather sad history. It connects the building of the Doge's Palace, where court hearings were once held, and the prison, to which many prisoners were sent after the trial. Only on this bridge could convicts cast a farewell glance at the city on the water.
Bridge of the Fists
Ponte dei Pugni (Ponte dei Pugni) translated from Italian translates as "bridge of the fists." He got this name for a reason, and there is an interesting story behind it that happened hundreds of years ago, when the Venetian tradition of fist fighting still existed. The aim of the tournaments was to throw the enemy into the water, which was not very difficult: the bridge did not have a railing. And today, attentive tourists notice marks on the Kulakov Bridge, which the participants of the battle stood on before it began.
Straw bridge
Not far from the magnificent Doge's Palace, the Straw Bridge (Ponte della Paglia) is thrown across the canal. Tourists who were on it often ask where it got its name from, because the straw was definitely not the material when it was created. The elegant Straw Bridge has its own story. Local residents claim that it was named so, because for many centuries a straw merchant lived near the bridge.
In addition to the magnificent bridges that have their own history, Venice also has a huge variety of nameless ponte, which also deserve attention. Therefore, going to the city on the water, carefully study them too: you will surely find your own twist in everyone!
