Somewhere In Time is a weekly photo from around the world.
I had read that the Bridge of Sighs was named as such because prisoners had to cross the bridge on the way to the courtroom to hear their judgement. Rumor has it you could hear their sighs as they crossed the bridge to meet their fate.
I knew that it was one thing that I really wanted to see in Venice and I actually had to look around a bit to find it. I didn’t recognize it from other photos I had seen because it was entirely covered in advertisements. I can’t lie – at first I was completely saddened by the all encompassing ads. It was hard to visualize prisoners walking across the bridge sighing to themselves while looking at larger than life ads for name brand items.
I remember standing there and being disappointed but over time I have come to discover that I actually like looking at this photo. There are so many monuments, galleries and amazing things to look at in Italy that at some point it becomes overwhelming. Sure it’s not the Bridge of Sighs I had imagined in my head but standing there and looking at it plastered in 21st century advertisements is something I will always remember and it will also stand out to me because of it.
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13 comments
Well it might not have been what you had imagined but yes, you’ll definitely remember it. I remember when we were in Berlin and I was taking loads of photos of the Brandenburg gate from a distance. As we got closer I realised it was covered in scaffolding and then a huge canvas that was a photo of the Brandenburg Gate. They’re my favourite pics of Berlin – and can we say we’ve seen the Brandenburg Gate? Probably not. 🙂
Julia
hahah… that’s funny. Sounds like they tricked you pretty well!
@Turkey’s For Life,
It was like that when I was there as well, and found it looked a bit better from the other side. I think the advertising is up to cover scaffolding etc that they are using to repair the buildings, so it is probably a good thing. Did you walk through the bridge of sighs? Its kind of creepy knowing that so many prisoners went across it to find out their sentence. I found the history of Venice to be quite interesting.
Maybe you are right. I ddin’t think of that. The advertising was attractive in any case. I didn’t walk through the bridge. I had to save it for my next trip back. 🙂@Dean,
Hung with ads? What a travesty. It’s only a little bridge between buildings, so it’s sad to think of it succumbing to being a place from which to display ads.
I am trying to think of the place that banned all ads. It was a few years ago and the council banned all the ads everywhere in the city. Maybe South America somewhere. Time for Google to do its magic. … Yep, it was Sao Paulo … good old Google
I can’t lie. I was disappointed. At least the ads were pretty but they were so huge they dwarfed the little bridge. @David @ The Quillcards Blog,
That’s kind of sad that it was covered in ads…the history sounds interesting. Gorgeous photo, though!
I know. St. Mark’s Square was the same way. 🙁@Andrea,
21st commercialization at its finest…I always want things to revert back to the historic state. I can’t even believe this is Venice. I went there over 10 years ago.
There were certainly a lot of ads. It would be awesome to see it completely redone in it’s historic state. That would be unbelievable. @Charu,
We were in Venice last September and were disappointed to find the Bridge of Sighs under construction. Although disappointed, the commercial ads did not offend me. There are lots of historic sights in Europe covered in scaffolding. I found that the ads covering the scaffolding were less unappealing than the scaffolding. The ads help pay for the reconstruction which makes them less unappealing. The alternative is to wait 50 to 100 years for the bridge fall in. On balance, I think it is a good thing. My photo of the bridge with ads made the cut for my slide presentation. The title of the photo is “Bridge of Sighs Under Construction (Sigh)”.
Hi Dave,
When I was there I had no idea the ads were hiding scaffolding! Another reader pointed that out and it bothers me a LOT less knowing that. In fact, I think it’s great they use the ad space to make construction not only look better but also to help cover costs. Thanks for commenting! 🙂 @DaveF,
ops…I was just planning to go there for a day trip after ferragosto…maybe i’ll wait a bit more!
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