Venice – Water and Land. In between: a bridge!(or maybe more than one!)
As probably many of you know, there are more than 430 bridges in Venice. I am going to try to list some of the most famous and explain to you why they have been named that way.
Originally all bridges were made of wood or stone and they did not have any side protection, which in Venetian is called Bande. Many years ago, for security reason, it was decided to put on every bridge some side protection to avoid people falling into the water after a night out and few drinks in the Osterie.
The names of the bridges were given according to their function, their history or maybe because of some particular event which might have occurred.
I will try now to explain some of the most known and strange.
The bridges are in alphabetical order:
Ponte de l’Aséo or Vinegar Bridge, obviously in the past, a very long time ago, there used to be a vinegar workshop nearby.
Ponte de le Becarie or Butchers Bridge, it was the bridge which lead to the abattoir in Rialto, where all the butchers used to work.
Ponte dei Bareteri or Hatters Bridge, in this area, situated right in the centre of Venice, there used to be many hatter shops.
Ponte de ‘a Calsina or Mortar Bridge, it was called this way because many boats full of mortar used to pass underneath, going to a nearby mortar warehouse.
Ponte de la Cerarìa or Wax Bridge, because there used to a be a wax candle shop which was using wax from the Asia and from Romania to make candle.
Ponte dei Ferali or Light Bridge, because nearby there used to be a place where they made the street lamps for the city.
Ponte de la Furàtola or Cheap Food Shop Bridge, since there used to be a shop selling very cheap food.
Ponte dei Lustraferi or Metal Shiner Bridge, here there were all the shops of those people who used to repair, clean and shine the metal used on the gondolas
Ponte de l’Ogio or Oil Bridge, here there used to be the warehouses which housed all the oil which arrived from Asia and Greece.
Ponte de le Ostreghe or Oyster Bridge, since here the fishermen used to stop and sell the shellfish they just caught.
Ponte de la Paja or Straw Bridge, since all the boats which carried the straw to feed the animals or to make beds stopped there.
Ponte de le Pignate or Pans Bridge, since on this bridge there used to be a shop which sold pots and pans.
Ponte dei Pignoli or Pine nuts Bridge, here a family used to trade in pine nuts, which were used for cooking.
Ponte dei Sartori or Tailors Bridge, it belong to the tailors corporation which helped the tailors in difficulty.
Ponte del Tintor o Tentor or Dyers Bridge, here there used to be the dyer shops.
Ponte de le Vele or Sail Bridge, nearby there used to be a shop which made sails for the boats and ships.
Ponte de le Veste or Dress Bridge, here a tailor used to make clothes for rich noblemen.
Ponte del Vin or Wine Bridge, since the boat carrying wine used to stop here.
Ponte del Diavolo or Devil Bridge, got its name from a legend. It seems that the devil himself appears on the 24th December at Midnight every year as a black cat.
Ponte dei Sospiri or Bridge of Sighs, it is the famous bridge which connects the Doge’s palace to the Dungeons, called this way since the prisoners used to sigh seeing Venice for the last time.
Ponte dee Guglie or Spires Bridge, because there are two long spires on each side of the bridge.
Ponte dei Tre Archi or Three Arches Bridge, obviously there are three arches on the bridge.
Ponte dee Tette or Tits Bridge, here the prostitutes used to expose their bodies to attract clients.
Ponte dei Scalzi or Barefooted Bridge, because it connects with the Church of the Barefoot on the other side of the water 
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jessica, WhyGo Italy, Gloria CasinadiRosa, monica cesarato, monica cesarato, monica cesarato and others. monica cesarato said: RT@monicacesarato Venice – Water and Land. In between: a bridge!(or maybe more than one!) http://bit.ly/dir8hm [...]
[...] and the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Now, a Venetian might quibble with the author that only one of Venice’s 430+ bridges made the list, but I love the canal city and can only think of a couple more bridges that are [...]
thank you. i used to live on Dorsoduro by Tonolo where there was a small bridge that everyone called Brooklyn, for the gum stuck above it. . . do you know this one?
No, but if you tell me exactly where it is I can find out things about it! Thanks!
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