This post is all about the most famous bridges in Venice (Italy)!

Venice is portrayed as the romantic city of Italy. You can just picture a lovely couple in a gondola, on the Grand Canal by sundown with a red rose or a Spritz in hand. This could be you during your next trip to the City of Canals.

The wonderful thing about Venice is that there are no cars! You will be walking everywhere (or taking a boat). Considering Venice is crossed by water, you are bound to cross a bridge at some point!

I’ll be listing below all the bridges you are most likely to cross, but you’ll see a ton of private bridges during your visit. That’s because many of the houses had their own water access.

So let’s take a closer at all the bridges you should definitely cross during your visit. 

 

Bridges in Venice (Italy)

 

The most remarkable Venice (Italy) bridges 

Venice is such a well-known city, that you might definitely have heard of the following bridges: they are definitely the most famous ones, and you’ll most likely be crossing them on the way to an attraction.

 

1 – The Rialto bridge

The Ponte di Rialto is undoubtedly the city’s most famous (and oldest) bridge! You’ll be walking on a bridge that was built in full Istrian stone towards the end of the 16th century!

It is also one of the 4 bridges that cross the Grand Canal.  You’ll certainly be crossing it or navigating past it at some point.

Until the 19th century, it was the only bridge that connected the two sides of Venice: San Marco and San Polo.

Today this bridge is a great and rare representation of what bridges used to be like a bridge with shops all along both sides.

 

2 – The Bridge of Sights and the Ponte della Paglia 

Just a little off the Piazza San Marco is the Bridge of Sighs another very famous landmark in the city of bridges. You’ll best see it from the Ponte della Paglia.

If you go there during the day, you might have to wait for a little to take your picture: the bridge is quite packed with tourists wanting to snap the bridge connecting the Doge’s Palace to the prison.

You can walk inside the bridge of Sighs if you’re visiting the Doge’s Palace. This bridge was the last time the prisoners could enjoy a view of Venice and freedom before getting locked up in prison. They would sight crossing the bridge, thus the name.

Another way to enjoy the view of the bridge is on a gondola.

 

3 – The Accademia bridge

The Ponte dell’Accademia is another bridge that crosses the Grand Canal, connecting the campo san Vidal in the south to the campo de la Carità in the north.

This wooden bridge was quite a late addition to the city. The build finished in 1933.

The bridge is named after the Galleria dell’Accademia, which is a very famous art museum in the city (mostly religious art). If you’re more of a fan of modern art, you should check out the Peggy Guggenheim collection!

This bridge is also only a short distance away from the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, which will give you a great view of the canal and Venice.

 

4 Ponte dei Pugni

The Ponte dei Pugni, or bridge of fists, has been named after an old Venitian tradition: fist fights between two opposite families, the Castellanis and the Nicolottis.

Whenever they got the chance both families would fist fight on every bridge in the city. Imagine that at the time most of the bridges did not have any railings. The winner was the family that still had its member on the bridge and not in the water.

This seems quite funny today, but the fights became more bloody as time went on. So much so that in 1705, the bridge fist fights became illegal. Whoever dared to have one and got caught ended up in forced labor for five years or seven-year imprisonment.

Nowadays the only visible mark of this old tradition is the two footsteps on each side of the bridge. They mark that starting line for the two best fighters of each clan.

 

5 Ponte delle Guglie

The first bridge was made of wood around 1285. It is one of the two bridges crossing the Cannaregio Canal.

If you arrive in Venice by train at the Santa Lucia railway station, you might cross this bridge. It would lead you to explore the Venitian Ghetto.

The current bridge was rebuilt in the 16th century with stone and bricks. It is the only Venetian bridge decorated with pinnacles, located at the base of the ramps: the arrows from which it takes its name.

 

6 – Ponte tre Ponti

If you are arriving in Venice through the Piazzale Roma you’re most likely going to cross the Ponte tre Ponti.

This pedestrian bridge connects 5 different parts of Venice and will get you on the way to the heart of the city.

 

7 – Ponte dei Tre Archi

If you’re ever in the Northern part of the city you should definitely check out the Ponte dei tre Archi. It is one of the most remarkable bridges in the city, in the Cannaregio district.

As its name would suggest, the bridge has three arches: two smaller ones on each side and a larger one in the center. Venice used to have more bridges like this one (with the three arches). Today it is one of the last examples you could witness.

 

8 – Ponte Delle Tette

The name of this very small bridge translates to “the bridge of the tits”. The name comes from prostitutes being asked to stand topless on this very bridge in the hopes of enticing any potential clients.

 

9 – Ponte dei Bareteri

The original Ponte dei Bareteri was of wood (like many other bridges in the city at the time). It got named after the cap and hat makers (the barète in Venitian dialect) that had their shops around it.

At the very beginning of the 16th century, a new stone bridge replaced the original one.

 

10 – Ponte Chiodo

If you want to get an idea of what bridges used to be like in Venice, go and have a look at the Ponte Chiodo. The bridge is located in the Cannaregio district and was named after the Chiodo family who used to own the bridge.

You’ll notice it has no railing or parapet, protecting you from falling in the water.

 

There will be many other bridges on your path during your Venice trip, as you are constantly crossing over a waterway. Here are a few that you might experience: Ponte Tron, Ponte del Paradiso, Ponte de l’Anconeta, Ponte del Cavallo, Ponte dei Pignoli, Ponte dei Dai, or the Ponte San Biasio delle Catene.

One o the best ways to experience the bridges in Venice Italy is definitely by boat. If you’re not up to taking a private gondola (they can get very expensive), you could take the boat buses to get around and experience some of the main bridges of the Grand Canal!

 

The most practical bridges of Venice (Italy) 

The next few bridges are maybe not the most beautiful bridges in the city, however, you might still find yourself on one of them. They are quite useful to get around or in and out of the city.

 

11- Ponte della Liberta

This is the longest bridge in Venice and maybe the one you’ll enjoy the least. It’s the road bridge connecting the mainland to the island of Venice. If you are coming to Venice by car or by bus from the Marco Polo airport (located only 15-20 minutes away), you’ll most certainly use this bridge.

The Railway bridge (still in use today) is just beside the Ponte della Liberta.

The Liberty Bridge will get you to the Piazzale Roma, from which you’ll be able to reach on foot your accommodation or start exploring the city.

 

12 – Ponte degli Scalzi

The Scalzi Bridge is one of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal. It connects the Santa Croce district to the Cannaregio district. This bridge will be waiting for you right in front of the Santa Lucia station.

The remodel of the current stone arch bridge ended in 1934. It replaced an 1858 Austrian iron bridge.

 

13 – Ponte della Costituzione 

The Constitution Bridge is another one of the four bridges crossing over the Grand Canal. it is the closest one to the Piazzale Roma. It can get you to the Santa Lucia railway station in no time.

It is one of the most recent bridges in Venice (2008). There were some controversies around the building of the arched bridge: too close to the Ponte degli Scalzi, too modern for the looks of Venice, and still no bridge to this day to connect Venice to the island of Giudecca.

This post was all about the most remarkable bridges in Venice!

 

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