The Whore's Revenge

The Bridge of Sighs

Nigel Bruce

• 1 min read

A view from the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) in Venice, apparently the last view a convict would have as he entered the Leads Prison. Casanova became famous as the only man to escape from it. Byron gave the bridge its name: “I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs,/A palace and a prison on each hand” - Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

A view from the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, apparently the last view a convict would have as they entered the Leads Prison. Casanova became famous as the only man to escape from it.
Photo: Xtremebar

The prison was known as the Leads (Piombi in Italian) because the roof above was lined with lead, which made the cells hotter in summer and colder in winter. Below is a photo taken in 1882 with the Bridge of Sighs at the rear.

Naya-Canonica-Canal
Photo: Carlo Naya.