Rialto Bridge Italian: Ponte di Rialto | |
|---|---|
 Rialto Bridge crossing the Canal Grande | |
| Coordinates | 45°26′17″N 12°20′10″E / 45.4380°N 12.3360°E |
| Carries | pedestrian bridge[1] |
| Crosses | Grand Canal |
| Locale | Venice, Veneto, Italy |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | stone arch bridge |
| Width | 22.90 metres (75.1 ft)[2] |
| Height | 7.32 metres (24.0 ft) (arch only) |
| Longest span | 31.80 metres (104.3 ft) |
| History | |
| Construction start | 1588 |
| Construction end | 1591 |
| Location | |
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| Click the map for an interactive, fullscreen view | |
The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto; Venetian: Ponte de Rialto) is the oldest of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Connecting the sestieri (districts) of San Marco and San Polo, it has been rebuilt several times since its first construction as a pontoon bridge in 1173, and is now a significant tourist attraction in the city.[3]
The present stone bridge is a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte. Construction began in 1588 and was completed in 1591.[3] It is similar to the wooden bridge it succeeded. Two ramps lead up to a central portico. On either side of the portico, the covered ramps carry rows of shops. The engineering of the bridge was considered so audacious that architect Vincenzo Scamozzi predicted future ruin. The bridge has defied its critics to become one of the architectural icons, and top tourist attractions, in Venice.[4]
- ^ Fulton, Charles Carroll (1874). Europe Viewed Through American Spectacles. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. p. 242. Retrieved 5 September 2008 – via Internet Archive.
There being no vehicles or horses in Venice, it is simply for pedestrians.
- ^ "Rialto Bridge". structurae.net. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ a b Dupré, Judith (2017). Bridges: A History of the World's Most Spectacular Spans. New York: Hachette/Black Dog & Leventhal Press. ISBN 978-0-316-47380-4.
- ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (30 March 2017). "3 Are Held on Suspicion of Plot to Attack Rialto Bridge in Venice". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
The Italian police announced on Thursday that they had dismantled a suspected jihadist cell whose members had discussed blowing up the Rialto Bridge, one of the top tourist attractions in Venice