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Rialto
Bridge – What news of Rialto? (Othello)
The Ponte di Rialto or Rialto Bridge may not be as famous as St
Mark’s Square but it is the true heart of Venice. A marvellous
feat of engineering the Rialto bridge contains a 24 high arch
to allow the passage of galleys. The bridge rests on some 12000
wooden pilings that still support it over 400 years later…
Designed by Antonio da Ponte (ironically Ponte means Bridge in
Italian) and constructed in just 3 years from 1588 and 1591, as
a replacement for the boat bridge and three wooden bridges that
had spanned the Grand Canal at various times since the 12th Century.
It remained the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot until
the Accademia Bridge was built in 1854.
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