Pont des Soupirs

See also: Bridge of the Sighs (homonymy)

The Bridge of the Sighs or Ponte dei Sospiri is one of many the Pont S of Venice in Italy. It passes above the Rio de Palazzo O of Canonica and connects old the Prison S to the cells of interrogations of the Palais of the Doges.

The name Pont of the Sighs suggests the Soupir expressed by the prisoners led in front of the judges, at the time of their last glance related to Venice. It was thus the last image of the Liberté for those which were going to finish their days in prison.

There exist several bridges bearing the same name, in particular with Cambridge and Oxford.

History of the Bridge of the Sighs

The Bridge of the Sighs was built in 1602 to connect the Palais of the Doges with the New Prison built (and finished in 1614) by Antonio da Ponte, then department head at the Office of the Salt of Venice.

It is this same Da Ponte who also rebuilt the Pont of Rialto. It is a bridge of style baroque which was drawn by da Ponte helped by its nephew the architect Antonio Contino di Bernardino.

The bridge is in Marbre and Pierre d' Istrie white. Two windows “fitted latticework on” out of stone are present on each of the two faces of the bridge.

A Flying Sarcophagus

This “flying Sarcophage”, like one called some writer S, indeed had the characteristic to be a completely closed bridge and this so not only preventing that one can hear the cries and lamentations of the Condamné S but also so that one cannot see them.

The fact that the bridge is completely closed was also an insurance for Sérénissime, that its Prisonnier S could not try to escape by crossing it. If not temptation to throw itself in the Canal would have obviously been too large.

Very precise functions

This bridge-passage had been worked out to be used very precisely for its ends and it is of this fact made up like a double corridor.

Thus, according to whether one borrowed it in a direction or in another, one used the corridor left or right, with the result that condemned could never nor see itself or to speak.

It is indeed this same passage which took them along also prison to the rooms of Torture. While taking it one went either to the well , of the Cachot S dark and wet, located at the basement, or with the leads where the prisoners choked in the heat of cells located under roofs covered with large plates of Plomb.

External bonds

Satellite image on Google Maps
history of the Bridge of the Sighs by Danielle Carton

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