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This evocatively named bridge once led convicts from the Doge’s Palace to the adjacent prisons (see Prisons).

The design of this most famous Venetian bridge at the narrowest point of the Grand Canal was hotly contested – leading 16th-century architects Michelangelo, Sansovino and Palladio all entered the competition, but lost out to the imposing winning project of 1588–91 by Antonio da Ponte. There were two previous bridges on this site; a timber bridge which collapsed in 1444 under the weight of a crowd, then a drawbridge, raised for the passage of tall-masted sailing ships (see Rialto Market).

One of the city’s most marvellous lookout points, over fascinating palaces and boats, can be had from this elegant 40-m (130-ft) long bridge, 7 m (23 ft) above the Grand Canal. Named after the nearby monastery of bare-footed monks, this 1934 structure in Istrian stone by Eugenio Miozzi replaced an Austrian-built iron bridge.

Truth and irony combine in the name of this 3.6-km (2-mile) “Bridge of Freedom”: the first full link between the mainland and Venice was put in place in 1933, when Italy was living under Fascism. The construction was preceded 86 years earlier by the Austrian-built railway bridge across the lagoon. Before that, the city relied entirely on boats.

A favourite subject for artists, this unusual three-arched high bridge dating from 1688 crosses the Cannaregio canal close to where it joins the lagoon. It was the work of engineer Andrea Tirali, nicknamed Tiranno (the tyrant) by his employees.

Fistfights (pugni ) between rival clans took place here until 1705 when they were outlawed for their violence (see Campo San Barnaba). Stone footprints marked the starting point of the combat, but contestants usually ended up in the canal.

When an increase in the practice of sodomy was recorded in the 1400s, the city’s prostitutes were encouraged to display their feminine wares at the windows over the “Bridge of Breasts”.

One of only two remaining bridges with no side protection, this one spans a quiet side canal in Cannaregio. The other is the Ponte del Diavolo on Torcello.

Not three but five interlocking bridges span the Rio Nuovo canal near Piazzale Roma. The timber and stone structures afford views taking in 13 other bridges.

Marvellous views of Piazza San Marco should entice visitors to this 33-m (110-ft) long iron bridge. Halfway along Giudecca, from 1340 it served as a link with newly reclaimed tidal flats.