Ponte dei Sospiri

'I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs;
A palace and a prison on each hand...
the exhaustless East pour'd in her lap
all gems in sparkling showers.'

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Lord Byron

This is probably 1 of the most famous bridges here. It was built in about 1600 across a narrow canal to link the Doges' Palace and the so-called New Prisons (built between 1560 and 1614).

It took its name by the sighs of condemned prisoners glancing at Venice for their last time while led to the dungeons.

However, young lovers believe that if they kiss under this bridge (presumably in a gondola) their love will last forever.