In addition to the four bridges previously blogged, Venice's most famous span is the Ponte dei Sospiri ("Bridge of Sighs"). This is a covered bridge originally used to transfer prisoners to and from interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It's not a particularly interesting structure, only spanning 11m, but given its fame I was surprised to find it almost hidden behind huge advertising hoardings.And I'm not the only one, with Lord Foster and others protesting against this bizarre defacement of a UNESCO World Heritage site. The adverts help to pay for the building restoration work, but it's a little like sticking a giant MacDonalds logo across the Taj Mahal, I think.
1 comment:
I see that Venice's mayor has responded to criticism, saying "If people want to see the building they should go home and look at a picture of it in a book". Is there any other city of such heritage significance which seemingly finds it so hard to raise money through more conventional routes?
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