What is "bridge of sighs"

The Bridge of Sighs 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.

A local legend says that lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the Bridge of Sighs as the bells of St Mark's Campanile toll. This legend served as a plot line for the movie A Little Romance, featuring Laurence Olivier and Diane Lane.

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.

On two separate occasions, students have pulled the prank of dangling a car under the bridge. In the first incident (in June 1963), a 1928 Austin 7 was punted down the river using four punts that had been lashed together, then hoisted up under the bridge using ropes. The second incident (in 1968) a Bond or Reliant Regal three-wheeler car was dangled under the bridge. In neither case was the bridge damaged.

The bridge was apparently a favourite spot of former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, having photos taken there when he was a student, in 1974 and 2000.

Hertford Bridge, popularly known as the Bridge of Sighs, is a skyway joining two parts of Hertford College over New College Lane in Oxford, England. Its distinctive design makes it a city landmark.

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 an interview with 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.

The title track was covered by Opeth for the special edition of their 2008 album Watershed.

"Day of the Eagle" was covered by Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens on his 3rd solo album Memory Crash. Tesla also covered the song on their 2007 " Real to Reel" album as did Armored Saint on their "Nod to the Old School" record.

'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.

Bridge of Sighs may refer to:

Bridges:

• Bridge of Sighs, a bridge in Venice
• Bridge of Sighs (Cambridge), a bridge in Cambridge, England
• Bridge of Sighs (Chester), a bridge in Chester, England
• Bridge of Sighs (Oxford), a bridge in Oxford, England
• Bridge of Sighs, a bridge that connected The Tombs with the Criminal Courts Building in New York City, U.S.
• Bridge of Sighs, at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Other:

• The Bridge of Sighs (Seufzerbrücke), at the Römer, a medieval building in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• Bridge of Sighs (album), an album by Robin Trower, or the title song
• Bridge of Sighs (novel), a novel by Richard Russo
• "The Bridge of Sighs" (poem), a poem by Thomas Hood
• Bridge of Sighs, a novel by Jane Lane
• The Bridge of Sighs, a novel by Olen Steinhauer
• Bridge of Sighs: Chelsea's 1996-97 Season, a book by Steven Downes
• The Bridge of Sighs, an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach
• "Bridge Of Sighs", a 1900 song written by James Thornton
• "Bridge of Sighs", 2008 cover of the Robin Trower song by Opeth off of Watershed