Bridge Of Sighs (Oxford) Geograph-3610290-by-David-Hallam-Jones

The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, 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 designed the Rialto Bridge. It 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 English name was bequeathed by Lord Byron in the 19th century as a translation from the Italian "Ponte dei sospiri", 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 culture

Numerous other bridges around the world have been nicknamed after the Bridge of Sighs — see Bridge of Sighs (disambiguation).

The 1861 opera ''Le pont des soupirs'' ("The Bridge of Sighs") by Jacques Offenbach has the name of the bridge as a title.

The Bridge of Sighs features heavily in the plot of the 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. One of the characters tells of a tradition that if a couple kiss in a gondola beneath the Bridge of Sighs in Venice at sunset while the church bells toll, they will be in love forever.

''Bridge of Sighs'' is the name of the second solo studio album released in April 1974 by English rock guitarist and songwriter, Robin Trower.

A Bridge of Sighs is mentioned in the opening line of “Itchycoo Park” by the Small Faces

Marillion, an English progressive rock band, mentions this particular bridge in their song ''Jigsaw''. ('We are renaissance children becalmed beneath the Bridge of Sighs').

Giles Corey, an American slowcore band, likewise mentions this bridge in their song ''No One Is Ever Going To Want Me.''

Renowned American architect H. H. Richardson used the bridge as inspiration when designing part of the Allegheny County Jail complex in
Pittsburgh, PA. It was completed in 1888 and features a similar enclosed arched walkway that connects the courthouse and jail, therefore bearing the same name.

Gallery

File:Venise - Pont des Soupirs.jpg, Bridge of Sighs from the bridge in front of it
File:View from the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri), Venice Italy.jpg, The bridge that stands between the Bridge of Sighs and the Grand Canal, as seen from the Bridge of Sighs itself
File:Ponte dei Sospiri during maintenance.jpg, The Bridge of Sighs during maintenance
File:Brooklyn Museum - The Bridge of Sighs - John Singer Sargent.jpg, John Singer Sargent watercolor
File:0 Venise, le pont des Soupirs franchissant le Rio di Palazzo o Rio della Canonica (2).jpg, The Bridge of Sighs seen from Ponte della Canonica
File:Pont des Soupirs Venise.jpg, Lateral view from Doge's Palace

See also

* Bridge of Lies – another bridge with legends regarding its name
* List of buildings and structures in Venice
* History of the Doge's Palace in Venice

References

External links

Bridge of Sighs, Venice
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Tourist attractions in Venice
1602 establishments in the Republic of Venice
1602 establishments in Italy