Bridge Number Forty-One - Ponte dei Frati

The very broad stone and iron Ponte dei Frati leads off the Campo Sant' Anzolo straight to the doorstep of the San Stefano Convent - now used as a government department building, with its classic Byzantine-style doorway.



The bridge was built by Augustinian monks in 1455 to access the convent from the relatively unimposing church - by Venetian standards, anyway - of San Stefano located on the square of the same name. It was later widened to provide access via a calle on the right-hand side to Campo Santo Stefano a short walk away. It's this route that we now follow to the first bridge on the Grand Canal we cross: The Ponte dell'Accademia.