Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs ( Ponte dei Sospiri Italian ) lies between the Doge's Palace and the Prisoners nuove, the new prison in the Italian city of Venice and leads over the Rio di Palazzo, an approximately eight -meter-wide channel.

The narrow, eleven feet long, white limestone bridge was designed by Antonio Contin, a nephew of Antonio da Ponte, the builder of the Rialto Bridge. It started with the construction in 1600, the bridge was completed in 1602 /03. Contin had already contributed to the Rialto Bridge. From the Doge's Palace, the Venetian courts condemned were led into the prison or execution across this bridge in the jail premises. Over the bridge two lead by a wall separate ways, which prevents the view of discharged prisoners to the court vorzuführenden.

The " Bridge of Sighs " was adopted in the Age of Romanticism her name, in the idea that the prisoners could throw on their way to prison from here for the last time with a sigh, a look into the freedom of the lagoon.

A very good view of the Bridge of Sighs Ponte della Paglia from you.

Many bridges were similar after the Italian model also called Bridge of Sighs. Better known among them are the. At the University of Cambridge, at the University of Oxford and in Bremen

The Bridge of Sighs (Le pont des soupirs ) is also the name of an opera bouffon by Jacques Offenbach.

45.43395833333312.340894444444Koordinaten: 45 ° 26 '2 " N, 12 ° 20' 27" E