Venetian bridge without railings Nail Bridge

One of the instagrammable bridge in Venice

Ponte Chiodo is one of the few remaining bridges in the city without railings, giving it a distinctive and rustic appearance.

There are 446 bridges in Venice, originally they were all built in stone and generally without the lateral protections called bands, or parapets, since 1600, as demonstrated by the paintings of the great Venetian landscape artists of the eighteenth century. 

Starting from the 19th century, for safety reasons, they were all equipped with a parapet. Only two “bandless” bridges have survived, one in Venice, the Ponte del Chiodo, and on the island of Torcello, the Ponte del Diavolo, dating back to the 15th century. 

The Ponte Chiodo is very old, finding it is not so simple, it is located in Venice in the Cannaregio district, it is definitely worth looking for it, as part of that secret Venice that is not included in the “tourism highways”. 

The Chiodo bridge is a private bridge, as it leads to the doors of some houses and does not continue along the public road. 

The Ponte Chiodo (Nail Bridge) is the last remained in Venice. It is a very ancient bridge which characteristic is its lack of parapet, peculiarity that had all the first Venetian bridges. “Chiodo” means nail and Chiodo was the surname of the nobile Venetian family which owned the bridge in the past.