Bridge of sighs

The beautiful bridge of sighs you can see outside from the Ponte della Paglia, in Riva degli Schiavoni, or even you can cross itduring the visit of the Doge’s Palace secret itineraries!

The bridge is a covered walkway inside which pass two narrow corridors, one for entry and one for exit, and which are used to gain access to prisons.

It’s a Istrian stone bridge built in 1600 that link the Doge’s Palace to the Palazzo delle Prigioni Nuove, where you will also find the ancient rooms of torture and the old Venetian courts offices.

The origin of its name there is a romantic legend that the prisoners who crossed the bridge before being locked up forever in prisons, did sigh throwing one last look to the city and its lagoon through the small Windows of the bridge, regretting the lost freedom and maybe the love that they left out.

The most famous prisoner who crossed the bridge of sighs was the noble Giacomo Casanova, whose escape from the infamous prison of Weights and inviolable remains the most famous among his countless adventures of Don Juan Valdez!