The Bridges of Venice
The city of Venice is made up of over 100 small islands, which are interconnected by more than 400 bridges. According to the Guida Insolita Venezia, there are a grand total of 416 bridges in Venice. The guide goes on to claim that 300 of the bridges are built from stone, 59 from iron and 49 from wood. (Sadly, the three figures only add up to 408, a shortfall of 8!).
The first bridges to be built in Venice consisted of little more than wooden planks. The first two stone bridges are documented in 1170. They are the Ponte della Canonica and the Ponte di San Provolo, which were built to facilitate the annual Easter procession of the doge from San Marco to San Zaccaria. The subsequent growth of the city led to the building of more bridges. By the middle of the 14th century there were between 350 and 400. Until well into the 19th century most of the bridges had no parapets. Nowadays, only one such bridge survives, the privately-owned Ponte Chiodo.
The first bridges to be built in Venice consisted of little more than wooden planks. The first two stone bridges are documented in 1170. They are the Ponte della Canonica and the Ponte di San Provolo, which were built to facilitate the annual Easter procession of the doge from San Marco to San Zaccaria. The subsequent growth of the city led to the building of more bridges. By the middle of the 14th century there were between 350 and 400. Until well into the 19th century most of the bridges had no parapets. Nowadays, only one such bridge survives, the privately-owned Ponte Chiodo.
