Bridge Seventy-Eight - Ponte Bembo

Though the next bridge, the Ponte Bembo, is also on the Rio San Zan Degola canal which we crossed a moment ago, walking to it took a good ten minutes, snaking through a maze of alleys. There simply wasn't a shortcut to take; we had to take the scenic route, as it were.

Ponte Bembo has a not-often-seen honeycomb-shaped iron railing. According to the keystone, this version of the bridge dates from 1871.

It leads onto the Campo San Zan Degola, which features an accompanying church of the same name. It's one of those churches with a colourful history - from early beginnings as a place of God to a downfall during the Napoleonic time when it was used as a warehouse, to recent restoration and taking its rightful place on the Venetian landscape again.

While the white wall name board reads 'Ponte Bembo' other sources name it 'Ponte San Zan Degolá', Degolá is a dialect version of San Giovanni Decollato, which translates into 'Saint John the Beheaded', or as he is more commonly known, Saint John the Baptist.