The Rialto Bridge was built in 1591 by Antonio da Ponte after Michelangelo, Palladio, and other major architects all submitted proposals and lost. His single stone arch over the 28-meter Grand Canal was considered dangerously audacious; it has stood for 430 years without major structural work. The view from the apex down the Grand Canal is the defining Venice panorama, and the Rialto fish and vegetable market alongside it opens early most mornings. Free; vaporetto line 1 or 2 to Rialto.
bridge in Venice
Rialto Bridge
Also known as Ponte di Rialto
When the competition opened in 1587 for a stone bridge over the Grand Canal, Michelangelo, Palladio, Sansovino, and Vignola all submitted designs. All of them lost to Antonio da Ponte, a relatively unknown architect whose single-span stone arch was considered so reckless that rival Vincenzo Scamozzi publicly predicted it would collapse.
- Type
- bridge
- Destination
- Venice
- Cost
- Free to visit
- Founded
- 1591
- Era
- Renaissance
- Address
- Sestiere San Polo, 30125 Venice
- Coordinates
- 45.4381, 12.3359