CestLaJu

After we arrived back at the port, we decided to snack at this quaint little coffee shop. I had the best Prosciutto, Salami, and Blue Cheese sandwich on an Olive Bread Bun. Mmmmm. 🙂

We then enjoyed a walk along the, for lack of a better term, ‘boardwalk’, and enjoyed a view of the Venice Lagoon and the well-documented Ponte dei Sospiri. It is an enclosed bridge made of white limestone with barred windows that connects the Doge’s Palace to the prison’s interrogation room.

The translation of the Sospiri is ‘sighs’. The ‘Bridge of Sighs’ gained its name because it was the final view of the beautiful Venice that convicts enjoyed before they were imprisoned within their cells.

A local legend states that lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss if they kiss on a gondola under the bridge at sunset, as the bells of St. Mark’s Campanile toll.

What a contradiction! The walkway is historically associated with imprisonment and a prisoner’s longing for freedom, but over the years it has become significant for amorous couples?

Our last stop was a visit to the Grimani Palace. It was originally a residence of the doge Antonio Grimani, but was rebuilt by his heirs Vittore and Giovanni Grimani from 1532 to 1569.

Unfortunately they had much of the interior decoration was either removed or deteriorated, so I was quite disappointed by the lack of ‘Period-Escape’ provided. Photos were also not allowed, but I managed to sneak a few of some outstanding Stucco and Rococo. 😛