The Ponte delle Guglie is one of two bridges in

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 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, to span the

Cannaregio Canal The Cannaregio Canal is one of the main waterways of Venice, Italy. Landmarks *Palazzo Labia *Palazzo Venier-Manfrin * Palazzo Savorgnan *Palazzo Bonfadini Vivante Palazzo Bonfadini Vivante is a palace in Venice, Italy located in the Cannaregi ...

. It lies near the western end of the canal, by the

Venezia Santa Lucia railway station Venezia Santa Lucia ( it, Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia) is the central station of Venice in the north-east of Italy. It is a terminus and located at the northern edge of Venice's historic city ( it, Centro storico). The station is one of Ven ...

. An earlier wooden bridge was built in 1285. It was replaced by the current stone and brick bridge in 1580. It was restored in 1641 and 1677, and was totally rebuilt in 1823 at which time spires were added. Further restoration took place in 1987 with the addition of metal handrails, stone steps, and access for the disabled. The

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

s lie at each end of the bridge. A carved

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

runs on either side of the walkway, and

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

s decorate its

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

. It is the only bridge in Venice adorned with spires from whence it takes its name ("Bridge of Spires"). For those arriving on foot from

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 ...

or the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station, the bridge leads into the area of the

Venetian Ghetto The Venetian Ghetto was the area of Venice in which Jews were forced to live by the government of the Venetian Republic. The English word ''ghetto'' is derived from the Jewish ghetto in Venice. The Venetian Ghetto was instituted on 29 March 151 ...

and the Strada Nova that leads to

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...

. The bridge itself is located just before the point where the Cannaregio Canal flows into the Grand Canal, just inside the bend that leads to the

Rialto Bridge The Rialto Bridge ( it, Ponte di Rialto; vec, Ponte de Rialto) is the oldest of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Connecting the ' (districts) of San Marco and San Polo, it has been rebuilt several times since its fir ...

References

External links

Satellite image from Google Maps
Bridges completed in 1580 Bridges in Venice Pedestrian bridges in Italy Stone bridges in Italy Stone arch bridges Brick bridges {{Italy-bridge-struct-stub