The Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) is a
road bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
connecting the islands that form the historical centre of the city of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
to the mainland part of the city.
Designed in 1932 by engineer
Eugenio Miozzi, it was opened by
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
in 1933 as Ponte Littorio ("
Lictor
A lictor (possibly from la, ligare, "to bind") was a Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a magistrate who held ''imperium''. Lictors are documented since the Roman Kingdom, and may have originated with the Etruscans.
Orig ...
's bridge") – a name used during the
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
era for several other Italian bridges.
At the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
it was renamed ''Ponte della Libertà'' to honour the end of the Fascist dictatorship and of the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
occupation.
The bridge is the only vehicular access to the historical centre of the Venice.
* The eastern end of the road terminates in the
Piazzale Roma
Piazzale Roma is a square in Venice, Italy, at the entrance of the city, at the end of the Ponte della Libertà. Piazzale Roma and nearby Tronchetto island are the only places in Venice's insular urban core accessible to ground motor vehicles, s ...
, the bus depot for the historical centre.
* The western end reaches mainland Venice and becomes the Via Libertà, which divides the Venetian boroughs () of
Mestre
Mestre () is a borough of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Venice, on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy.
Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the ''Municipalità di ...
(north) and
Marghera
Marghera is a ''municipalità'' (borough) of the ''comune'' of Venice, Italy. It includes the industrial area known as Porto Marghera (English: Marghera Port) or Venezia Porto Marghera.
Etymology
The name Marghera is said in popular myth to come ...
(south). It is final section of the old Public Road 11, the .
It is long and has two lanes (but no
emergency lane) with a
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
track each way. There is also a pedestrian and cycle path on the southern side. It was built alongside the
Venice Railway Viaduct,
Venice Railroad Bridge
/ref> which had been constructed in 1846. This has two tracks each way and is still in use.
In popular culture
The bridge was a major location for the White Album fight in the manga and anime ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly ''seinen'' manga ...
: Golden Wind''.
See also
The Causeway, Bermuda
The Causeway is a narrow strip of reclaimed land and bridges in the north of Bermuda linking Hamilton Parish on the mainland in the southwest and Bermuda International Airport on St. David's Island in St. George's Parish in the northeast, wh ...
: A similar bridge in Bermuda
References
Bridges in Venice
Ponte della Libertà
The Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) is a road bridge connecting the islands that form the historical centre of the city of Venice to the mainland part of the city.
Designed in 1932 by engineer Eugenio Miozzi, it was opened by Benito Mussol ...
Road bridges in Italy
Ponte della Libertà
The Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) is a road bridge connecting the islands that form the historical centre of the city of Venice to the mainland part of the city.
Designed in 1932 by engineer Eugenio Miozzi, it was opened by Benito Mussol ...
Ponte della Libertà
The Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) is a road bridge connecting the islands that form the historical centre of the city of Venice to the mainland part of the city.
Designed in 1932 by engineer Eugenio Miozzi, it was opened by Benito Mussol ...
Ponte della Libertà
The Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) is a road bridge connecting the islands that form the historical centre of the city of Venice to the mainland part of the city.
Designed in 1932 by engineer Eugenio Miozzi, it was opened by Benito Mussol ...
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