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Santiago Calatrava Bridge Nearly Completed in Venice

The bridge is slated to open later this year.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 8/9/2007 12:00:00 AM

Access to three parts of Venice will soon be much easier, thanks to a 308-foot-long bridge designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The last, center section of the Quarto Ponte sul Canal Grande (Fourth Bridge on the Grand Canal) will be connected this weekend.

The section was transported via boat along Venice´s Grand Canal Tuesday night, during low tide. Located near the city´s major railway station, Stazione Santa Lucia, the bridge includes a new passage between the Piazzale Roma and the mooring platforms for the ACTV water transport. The bridge is slated to open later this year.

Santiago conceived an arched, steel structure rising nearly eleven feet over the canal. Steps and deck are tempered security glass and natural Istria stone. Handrails are glazed bronze and florescent bulbs will illuminate the bridge at night.

"Bridges in Venice do more than join together different parts of the city," Calatrava states. "They serve as landmarks, meeting places, points of definition within an urban fabric that is utterly unique."

Santiago was awarded the commission by the Municipality of Venice via a public selection process.