What was the rialto bridge built for

It was a floating bridge and it was by no means ideal, as it blocked the traffic on the canal. The name Quartarolo came from the fee the pedestrians had to pay for the crossing. Quartarolo was one-fourth of a Denaro… Anyway, a small coin. So a new bridge was built in This time the Venetians opted for a fixed wooden bridge The structure consisted of two inclined ramps that joined at a mobile central section, which could be raised to allow the passage of taller ships.

Given the close association with the market, the bridge changed its name and became Ponte di Rialto, the Rialto Bridge in Venice. In , Bajamonte Tiepolo tried to overthrow the Doge in a Rebellion. The bridge was severely damaged but it was rebuilt soon after. It stood up for another hundred years until in it collapsed when a big crowd gathered on top of the bridge to witness The Marriage cortege of the Marquis of Ferrara.

Well, the bridge was rebuilt again, this time wider, stronger and with shops on the side. Much like the present bridge.

At this point, the Republic started to be concerned about the high cost of maintenance and the evident fragility of the wooden structure. In a stone bridge was proposed for the first time, and in the following decades, several projects were evaluated. The city had grown and the various parts of the metropolis needed to be bonded together for everything to function in a rational way.

A commission of supervisors was appointed to validate the proposals. The tourists can visit it on their own, or as a part of any number of sightseeing tours. The unique look at the bridge can be of course be seen by booking Venice gondola ride or a boat tour that visits all the landmarks situated near the Venice Grand Canal. If you want to visit Rialto Bridge personally, you can find it located between the San Marco and San Polo districts, and can be easily reached by Vaporetto water bus lines 1 and 2 via the Rialto stop.

Numerous streets near the bridge also feature easy-to-spot signage that points to the location of the bridge. If you are traveling on small passenger shuttle boats on Grand Canal, you should know that small pier is constructed directly near Rialto Bridge.

During the spring, summer and fall months, and especially during the height of the tourist season, the bridge and its surrounding area are home to the wide variety of the street vendors, street musicians, and tourist-friendly shops. The most crowded part of the bridge is often its central passage which is lined with two rows of shops that famously sell local Murano glassware, jewelry, and other crafts.

At night, when the shops are closed down, the bridge remains illuminated by the nearby floodlights that keep the bridge in its shiny white state all up to dawn which looks especially pretty when observed from water gondolas. Since it was a notable part of one of the most beautiful cities of Italy for so many centuries, Rialto Bridge managed to become one of the most easily identifiable icons of Venice. Today it is celebrated not only as an important tourist attraction but also as an important piece of Renaissance heritage and beautiful work of architectural art.

The visage of the bridge is represented in countless paintings, tourist memorabilia, and historical works. Warning: The bridge consists primarily of steps, making it a challenge for tourists with strollers or wheelchairs. Over the centuries, the Ponte di Rialto has earned both praise and scorn from critics. In the judgement of the Venetians, says Moryson, it 'deserves to be reputed the eighth miracle of the world.

Others have since been less charitable, condemning it as top-heavy and ungraceful. The dispute is academic. Like the Eiffel Tower, the Rialto has acquired a symbolic status that puts it well beyond the reach of aesthetic judgements. I love the quaint old figures of St.

Mark and St. Theodore, on the station side of the bridge. I love the Annunciation on the other side, angel at one end, Virgin at the other, Holy Ghost serenely aloft in the middle. I love the queer whale-back of the bridge, humped above the markets, and its cramped little shops, facing resolutely inwards.

Most of these stores now cater to tourists but this was actually an important hub for butchers, bakers, and other merchants back in medieval times. The Rialto district was the first to be built in Venice and many people settled in this area during the 9th century.

For this reason, Rialto was a busy financial and commercial hub and the Rialto Bridge became the gateway to the main market. In fact, this was the main food market in Venice by the 11th century and anything from spices to fish and fresh farm produce could be found here. While the Rialto Bridge was constructed in the 16th century, the very first dry crossing of the Grand Canal was built in However, less than one century later, this effort was rebuilt to cater to the increased number of people that were crossing over to the Rialto Market every day.

It would be a wise decision but also something which was not considered enough in later times. In , much of the Rialto Bridge was burned down during a revolution led by Tiepolo and then it collapsed completely just a few years later when a group of people gathered to watch a local boat parade.

A couple of centuries later, two rows of shops were built on each side of the bridge and these were made available for rent to merchants. Unfortunately, the Rialto Bridge collapsed once again in and the Venetians appointed five designers including Michelangelo to build a stone replacement.