# Ponte di Rialto

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Canonical page: https://mytuur.com/en/city/venice/spot/ponte-di-rialto/

Content updated: 2026-06-22

Ponte di Rialto crosses Venice’s Grand Canal at its narrowest point, linking the commercial district of Rialto with San Marco. Its single stone arch rises above covered ramps lined with shops, while the central portico opens views along the busy waterway.

The first crossing here was a pontoon bridge built around 1173, followed by a wooden bridge in 1255. After repeated fires and collapses, Antonio da Ponte’s permanent stone design replaced it between 1588 and 1591. For centuries, this was the only fixed foot crossing over the Grand Canal, carrying people between Venice’s commercial and political centres.

Thousands of timber piles support the structure in the soft alluvial ground, and boats pass beneath its arch, which spans 28 metres. From the portico, you can watch water buses and other vessels move through one of Venice’s most active scenes.

- City: [Venice](https://mytuur.com/en/city/venice/)

## Photos

- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_PontediRialto_6850794e717a3e13abd51efc_0.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ponte_di_Rialto_Canal_Grande_Venezia_Rilievo_San_Marco.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_PontediRialto_6850794e717a3e13abd51efc_1.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rialto_Gondoliers.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_PontediRialto_6850794e717a3e13abd51efc_2.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ponte_di_Rialto_facciata_ovest_di_sera.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_PontediRialto_6850794e717a3e13abd51efc_3.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_the_Rialto_Bridge_in_Venice.jpg)

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