Rialto Bridge

Venice has been in existence for more than a thousand years. And for quite a while, Venice was very prosperous. There were numerous beautiful buildings built in this small island but curiously, there was only one bridge which spanned the Grand Canal. This is probably understandable since almost everybody had boats and there was no need to walk. It was only until the advent of modern tourism that the rest of the bridges were built. The Rialto Bridge used to be the only bridge over the Grand Canal. Back then there was a basic wooden bridge. It was movable to allow tall vessels to pass through the canal. After a few disasters, the bridge was built in stone to what it is right now. That was in 1591 and it still stands.

The Rialto Bridge is one of Venice’s most recognizable landmarks. It is not really difficult to miss as long as you walk along the Grand Canal. It is a white covered bridge. It is no longer movable but it rises high enough that most of vessels passing through would fit. These days it is just the tourist boats that pass through here. Unsurprisingly, the Rialto is also one of the most visited places here in Venice. There were a lot of people going up the bridge and I didn’t even recognize that it was a bridge until I got to the top. I had to go back to photograph the bridge from the canal. It kind of worries me that there were so many people that you can easily lose your companions here.

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