Ponte dei Pugni

Ponte dei Pugni
Ponte dei Pugni from above.
(view as a 360° interactive panorama)

Ponte dei Pugni ("Bridge of Fists") is a bridge in Venice, Italy and considered one of the most famous "fighting bridges" in the city located near Campo San Barnaba in Dorsoduro.[1][2][3][4]

The top of the bridge has the impression of four footprints, marking the starting position of the fighters when rival clans would gather to fight and throw each other in to the canal. The rivalry between the Nicolotti and the Castellani clans at the bridge dates back to the 14th century.[5] The tradition was ended in the early 18th century after a 1705 altercation led to a "bloodbath" with knives and stones.[5]

Competition on the Ponte dei Pugni in Venice by Joseph Heintz the Younger (1673).

One of the paintings of Joseph Heintz the Younger (Contest on the Fists Bridge in Venice by Joseph Hines, Jr., 1673) depicts the popular fun in Venice – battagliole sui ponti (battle on the bridge) – an annual competition between the inhabitants of the eastern and western sestiere.[6]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ponte dei pugni (Venice).

References

  1. ^ Kindersley, Dorling (1 May 2012). Eyewitness Travel Family Guide Italy. Penguin. ISBN 9780756693220. Retrieved 9 August 2017 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Venice and its lagoons :: Ponte dei Pugni". Venicethefuture.com. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  3. ^ Out, Editors (1 February 2010). Time Out Venice: Verona, Treviso, and the Veneto. Time Out. ISBN 9781846703041. Retrieved 9 August 2017 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ "Bridge of Fists". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  5. ^ a b Littlewood, Ian (1995-05-15). A Literary Companion To Venice: Including Seven Walking Tours. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-13113-5.
  6. ^ "Fist Fights on Venetian Bridges". amusingplanet.com/. Retrieved 2019-10-03.

45°25′59″N 12°19′27″E / 45.4331°N 12.3243°E / 45.4331; 12.3243

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