Address: Italy, Venice, Grand Canal
Length: 48 m
Height: 7.32 m
Start of construction: 1588 year
Completion of construction: 1591 year
Architect: Antonio de Ponte
Coordinates: 45 ° 26'17.0 "N 12 ° 20'09.3" E
Content:
Short description
As has been said many times in the materials dedicated to the amazing Venice, it is quite difficult to highlight its main attractions.
Bird's eye view of the Rialto Bridge
The entire "Serene" is a huge open-air museum, where the main exhibits are magnificent palaces, canals, bridges and even the most ordinary residential buildings. However, the ancient Rialto Bridge over the Canal of Palaces (Grand Canal), depicted on all kinds of souvenirs, is a kind of visiting card of the city on the water, and which, according to the most conservative estimates, is visited by just over 7,000 people every day. It should be noted that an amazing bridge was built at the narrowest point of the main transport artery of Venice, so it is rather difficult to go through it at any time of the day due to the huge crowd of tourists.
The popularity of the Rialto among travelers is not only due to the fact that it is the first bridge in the city to cross the Grand Canal. It houses 24 modern boutiques, in which guests of Venice are invited to purchase unique jewelry and Venetian glass products made by craftsmen on the island of Murano. In addition, the very construction of such a bridge at the end of the 16th century became a revolution in architecture.
View of the Rialto Bridge from the Grand Canal
As you might guess, the prices in the Rialto shops are unusually high, so tourists who have a limited budget would be better off contemplating the architectural features of the bridge. Like the Bridge of Sighs, the oldest crossing of the Grand Canal in Venice has its own legend. Sailing under it on a gondola, you can make love eternal with a kiss. It may seem that all, without exception, the bridges of "Serene" do nothing but give lovers happiness in their personal lives. In this, by the way, there is a certain grain of truth, but Rialto is also capable of fulfilling the most cherished desire of a person: in order for it to come true, one must remember the dream at the moment when you find yourself in a luxurious gondola right under its arch.
Rialto Bridge: construction and a little history
According to documents and chronicles that have been poorly preserved to this day, it can be assumed that the very first crossing in the place where the Rialto now stands was built in 1181. True, in those days it was just an unreliable pontoon bridge. It was originally called Ponte della Coin. Most likely, the bridge got this name for the reason that a workshop was located very close to it, where coins were minted.
View of the Rialto Bridge from the Riva del Vin embankment
In 1264, the pontoon ferry was dismantled, and in its place a wooden bridge was built in two parts, which could be lifted when a ship approached them. It is worth noting that already in those days, the main market of Venice was located not far from the drawbridge. The name of this place, where the uninterrupted trade of a wide variety of goods was carried out, Rialto. For this reason, the wooden bridge got its name, which has remained unchanged to this day.
As you know, wood is far from the most reliable building material for the construction of bridges. Already in 1310, soldiers suppressing the rebellion of Baimonte Tiepolo accidentally set fire to the Rialto... At the cost of incredible efforts, the Venetians were able to restore the only bridge across the Grand Canal. However, this bridge was doomed: in 1444, a huge number of people gathered on it, wishing to see the bride of the Marquis of Ferarra. Naturally, the structure, damaged by water, could not withstand such a load and collapsed in the waters of the Grande Canal. After this tragic event, the Rialto was rebuilt again, and wood was again used as a material for its construction. The central part of this bridge was, like that of its predecessor, a drawbridge.
View of the Rialto Bridge from the Riva Ferro promenade
In the painting by the artist Carpaccio, you can see what the ferry looked like near the huge market in the middle of the 15th century. Moreover, the canvas entitled "The Venetian Miracle with the Relic of the Holy Cross" dating from 1496 also depicts the gondolas before the so-called unification law was passed: all floating facilities were painted in bright colors. After a certain period of time, all gondoliers were obliged to repaint their ships black, and place a ferro made of the strongest steel on their bows. If you carefully study the book of the traveler Henry Morton, which mentions a picture painted by Carpaccio, you can come to the conclusion that the artist depicted a brothel that operated on the legendary Rialto.
Some sources mention that the last wooden Rialto bridge was destroyed in 1524, but this information is not confirmed by modern historians and official documents. In the ancient chronicles there is a record that in 1551 a competition was announced among the most famous architects of that time, in which they were invited to develop the most reliable and durable construction of a stone bridge. By the way, the great Michelangelo took part in this competition! Alas, none of the best specialists then received an order; the construction of the stone Rialto, a few years later, was entrusted to Antonio da Ponte, who was not known in Italy.
What influenced such a strange choice of the rulers of Venice? Why were the projects of Michelangelo, Vignola, Palladio and Jacolo Sansovino neglected? Even now historians cannot answer this question. There is only an assumption that one of the influential Venetians came up with the idea to entrust the project to a person whose name meant the bridge. True, some adhere to the version that Antonio da Ponte proved to be excellent in the restoration of the Doge's Palace after the fire that occurred in it: for this he was entrusted to build a new Rialto. Whatever critics may say, the bridge built by Ponte has stood the test of time with dignity. Built in just three years (from 1588 to 1591), the stone Rialto has remained unchanged until our times.
Rialto Bridge: one of the main attractions of modern Venice
The Rialto, which a modern tourist can enjoy, has only one arch (!) And is fortified with 12,000 piles! As mentioned above, there is a brisk trade on the bridge today, however, only very rich businessmen can buy such a profitable place for themselves. Despite the sky-high prices in boutiques, wealthy tourists are happy to leave their money in them.
Rialto bridge at night
Naturally, the ancient, but still reliable Rialto attracts the attention of city guests not only because of its boutiques: it is, first of all, interesting for its architectural style and the revolutionary decision of Antonio da Ponte for that time. An engineer unknown in certain circles did not pay attention to criticism and built an amazing bridge, the strength of which was proved not only by time, but also by Galileo's calculations. Despite the fact that the bridge is fixed, all ships crossing the numerous canals of Venice pass easily under it: the height of the arch above the water is 7.5 meters.
Considering this bridge, its decoration and the surrounding buildings, a tourist should be careful not to miss two amazing bas-reliefs on the facade of one of the magnificent houses, which are almost adjacent to the Rialto. These bas-reliefs did not appear by chance and are a worthy response from Antonio da Ponte to criticism from influential townspeople.According to legend, one of the richest Venetian women argued with enviable persistence that the old engineer's project could not be brought to life. She declared to the whole city that it was more likely that a flame would flare up between her legs than a stone Rialto with just one arch would appear.
Gondola in front of the Rialto Bridge
She was supported by a man who was also popular in the upper strata of society. He said that Ponte's drawings do not deserve attention and rather a huge nail will grow in the causal place than a bridge will appear over the Grand Canal, built according to the project of a Venetian who took an active part in the restoration of the Doge's Palace. As history has shown, these two critics turned out to be wrong, and Antonio da Ponte marked two bas-reliefs next to Rialto, where a man with a fingernail instead of a reproductive organ approaches a woman from behind, who has a huge fire between her legs ...
