The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) is a popular tourist attraction in Venice. The bridge passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the Dogi’s Palace (left side above) to the prison (you can see the bars across windows to the right) . It was built in 1600.
The bridge is short, enclosed and ornamental, built of white limestone with screens covering two small rectangular windows.
Legend has it that prisoners who crossed the bridge on their way to jail would sigh as they caught their last glimpses of Venice through the bridge windows. Romantic poet Lord Byron referenced it in his book, “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”: “I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs; a palace and a prison on each hand.”
The best views of the Bridge of Sighs is from a gondola ride.
