Bridge of sighs, the prisona

The Palazzo Ducale was also the headquarters of the Venetian court; those found guilty here had to be transferred to the prison’s palace through the Bridge of Sighs.
The Bridge of Sighs takes its name from the prisoners’ sighs behind the bridge’s windows when they caught, perhaps for the last time, a glimpse of the external world. The old prison was built in the 13th century; the prison cells inside were also called “leads” – the name being taken from the rooms’ material being built underneath the roof level?. Today the Prison’s palace is being converted to a museum.

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