The Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs at night

The Bridge of Sighs or Ponte de Sospiri is in Venice. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace.

The bridge was built in the 16th century and only given the name Bridge of Sighs in the 19th century, by Lord Byron.

The bridge is of white marble. Windows with stone bars are on the summit of this enclosed bridge. The name comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells.

A bridge in Hertford College, Oxford is named Bridge of Sighs after the one in Venice.

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