The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: Ponte dei Sospiri) is a bridge located in Venice, northern Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It was designed by Antonio Contino (whose uncle Antonio da Ponte had designed the Rialto Bridge) and was built in 1600.
The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron as a translation from the Italian "Ponte dei sospiri" in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. In addition, little could be seen from inside the Bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows.
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The Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge is a covered bridge at St John's College, Cambridge University. It was built in 1831 and crosses the River Cam between the college's Third Court and New Court. The architect was Henry Hutchinson.
It is named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, although they have little architecturally in common beyond the fact that they are both covered. The bridge, a Grade I listed building, is one of Cambridge's main tourist attractions and Queen Victoria is said to have loved it more than any other spot in the city.
A common myth states that it was the students who named this bridge "bridge of sighs," as the context of its existing within the college grounds means that the "sighs" are those of pre-exam students. This belief probably has much to do with the function of the bridge—linking two quadrangles of St John's College together in a covered path, as opposed to Kitchen Bridge, which is an open-air bridge. Students are rumoured for their sighs on proceeding from their quarters on the Backs to the tutors' offices in the main college quadrangle.
Bridge of Sighs is the second solo album by the English guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower. It was released in 1974. Bridge of Sighs, his second album after leaving Procol Harum, was a breakthrough album for Trower. Songs from this album, such as "Bridge of Sighs", "Too Rolling Stoned", "Day of the Eagle", and "Little Bit of Sympathy", have become live concert staples for Trower.
The album was produced by organist Matthew Fisher, formerly Trower's bandmate in Procol Harum. Acclaimed Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick was this album's sound engineer.
In a recent interview in Guitar World , Robin Trower explained how the album got its title. Robin said that he had had the first line of the song for years and then one day he saw some sport pages which listed a racehorse called Bridge of Sighs and thought that would be a great title.
Bridge of Sighs (Chrysalis 1057) reached #7 in the United States during a chart stay of 31 weeks. It was certified Gold on 10 September 1974. Early printings of the original album cover had the front image upside-down, and were more greenish in colour.
Bridge of Sighs is a 2007 novel written by Richard Russo. Bridge of Sighs is Russo's first novel since his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Empire Falls (2002).
For the Bridge of Sighs as in the actual bridge, click on the hyperlink.
The novel is set in small, fictional town in upstate New York called Thomaston. Like Empire Falls, the town is quickly deteriorating. The story is about Louis Charles ("Lucy") Lynch, his family, his wife, and his best friend. Sixty-year-old Lou Lynch has cheerfully spent his entire life in Thomaston, New York, married to the same woman, Sarah. He is the proprietor of three convenience stores.
The Bridge of Sighs in Chester was a crossing that led from the Northgate gaol, across the Chester Canal, to a chapel in the Bluecoat School. It was built to allow condemned prisoners to receive the last rites before their execution. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
The bridge was built probably in 1793. It originally had iron railings to prevent the prisoners from escaping. The architect was Joseph Turner.
After the Northgate Prison closed, Chester City Corporation tried to have the bridge removed in 1821.
Coordinates: 53°11′37.86″N 2°53′37.43″W / 53.1938500°N 2.8937306°W / 53.1938500; -2.8937306
(Robin Trower)
The sun don't shine
The moon don't move the tides,
to wash me clean
Sun don't shine
The moon don't move the tides,
to wash me clean
Why so unforgiving and why so cold
Been a long time crossing Bridge of Sighs
Cold wind blows
The Gods look down in anger,
on this poor child
Cold wind blows
And Gods look down in anger,
on this poor child
Why so unforgiving and why so cold