Accademia Bridge

A photosharing website, Sightsmap.com, recently reported that the Accademia Bridge is Venice’s most photographed sight (for a reference to the report, read this link from the UK Telegraph).  

I must admit that I'm skeptical about this report – I could have sworn that the depths of the Piazza San Marco, or the Palazzo Ducale, or the golden domes of the Basilica would trump the Accademia Bridge, especially since the hordes of tourists seem to head straight to the Piazza. 

The classic view down the Grand Canal toward the Salute from the Accademia Bridge is gorgeous and much celebrated, but the bridge in itself is not particularly photogenic.  

This is a view of the bridge from the Dorsoduro end...do you see what I mean?

View of the Accademia Bridge, seen from the Dorsoduro side.  Photograph by Capturing Venice.

But I really love the plain, practical solidity of the Accademia bridge.  

Its steps are easy to climb - just the right height, just the right width (unlike the new Calatrava bridge at the other end of town upon which you risk your limbs as you descend its slippery, reflective and uneven steps).

I love the sturdiness and homeliness of the wood of the Accademia bridge.  

I love walking up the Accademia bridge, pressing the palm of my hand flat against the broad, smooth balustrade.  

Balustrade of the Accademia Bridge.  Photograph by Capturing Venice.

I love standing at the base of the Accademia bridge on the San Marco side, and spotting my favourite lion in the garden of the Palazzo Cavallo-Franchetti (I've written about him previously - you can see a photo of him by clicking here).

I love standing on the Accademia bridge and counting the number of painted wooden mooring poles that line the edges of the Grand Canal.  

I love watching the vaporetti and motor boats coming and going beneath the bridge.

I love standing on the bridge and admiring the skill of the gondoliers as they maneuver their beautifully elegant vessels around the motor traffic.

I love it when I get high enough on the bridge to look down the Grand Canal and see the familiar flat rooftop of the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, home of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

And I love the reward of this view when you reach the top of the bridge. 

View of the Grand Canal from the top of the Accademia Bridge in Venice. Photograph by Capturing Venice.

The Accademia Bridge is one of four bridges that span the Grand Canal, and provides access from the Campo San Vidal (in San Marco) across to Campo della Carità and the Accademia di Belli Arti di Venezia (in Dorsoduro).  

The first bridge was a steel structure was designed by the English firm, Alfred Neville in 1854.  A temporary wooden bridge (designed by Eugenio Miozzi) was erected in 1933, and a replica of this wooden bridge was constructed in 1985. 

Calle dei Cerchieri (Dorsoduro)

In my last post, I shared some shots of my first street in Venice.  So let's continue the theme...

After saying farewell to the Istituto Ciliota, I moved into a beautiful apartment with three American girls, two of whom were fellow interns at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the third was a violinist who was travelling through Europe.

Our apartment was on Calle dei Cerchieri in Dorsoduro (not far from the Rio della Toletta) and it seemed astonishingly beautiful and luxurious - filled with ornate furniture, some hand painted with Venetian scenes, and with cupboards filled with Venetian glassware.  We had two balconies, and the one off the kitchen looked out at the bell tower of San Pantalon. 

Here is the narrow entry to the alleyway:

Calle dei Cerchieri (Dorsoduro), Venezia

And the entry to our apartment building:



Calle dei Cerchieri (Dorsoduro), Venezia

Our apartment was perfectly located - just a brisk ten minute walk from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.  It was also a short walk to Campo San Barnaba to buy grocery items: cheese and bread (the cheese shop has closed - it's now a café - but the bread shop (I think it's called Rizzo Pane is still there).  I'd buy my vegetables from the old vegetable boat moored alongside Fondamente Gheradini next to the Ponte dei Pugni (thankfully it's now run by new operators after the former owner retired) and then carry onto the supermarket at Campo Santa Margherita. 

Most evenings we walked over to Il Doge in Campo Santa Margherita for a cup of gelato (in those days, Campo Santa Margherita was lively but it certainly didn't pump until the early hours of the morning as it does today). 

There was a little bar on Calle dei Cerchieri, just a few steps from our front door, where I learnt to like drinking prosecco.  One of my flatmates drew some charcoal views of Venice which she was allowed to pin up along the walls of the bar, and when I stood on tiptoe to look into the bar in 2007, those charcoal drawings were still there, although the bar never seemed to be open.  When I returned this year, the bar was definitely shut and I couldn't see any sign of those drawings. 

I loved the Calle dei Cerchieri then, and I still do.  It feels like home and a sanctuary.  But what I loved most of all was the end of our street...it ended  with a little wooden jetty on the Grand Canal. 

I come to stand here at every chance that I have to enjoy the quiet and peace of this little section of the Grand Canal.  Here is the view looking to the right (toward the Accademia bridge in the near distance):


View of the Grand Canal from Calle dei Cerchieri (Dorsoduro), Venezia

And a view toward the opposite direction:




View of the Grand Canal from Calle dei Cerchieri (Dorsoduro), Venezia

I’ve always been so fascinated with the quiet view of the Grand Canal from the end of Calle dei Cerchieri, that until recently I’d never thought to wonder about the buildings around my old apartment.  Here's a view of the two buildings that flank my little viewing spot taken from a vaporetto:



View of Calle dei Cerchieri (Dorsoduro), Venezia from a vaporetto (June 2007)

The building on the left is Palazzo Loredan dell’Ambasciatore, a late 15^th century Gothic palazzo.  In 1752, I recently re-read Andrea di Robilant’s account of his ancestor Andrea Memmo’s love affair with Giustiniana Wynne and realised that Palazzo Loredan dell’Ambasciatore was briefly her home after she married Count Orsini-Rosenberg.

The building on the right hand side of the viewing spot is Palazzo Moro, which dates from the 16th century.