For many years this was the only bridge across the Grand Canal, and
it stands for much of the past glory of Venice. It is made of marble,
and is over 150 feet long. It was built between the years 1588 and
1592, and is today, as it was in early times, a place of shops. Here
Shylocks have bargained and Bassanios have met their friends these many
years. More literally speaking, it was not the Bridge of the Rialto
that Shylock refers to in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” but the
district nearby.
It is difficult for anyone who has visited Venice to select single
points for comment or description. The city appeals to him as a whole,
and each object of beauty in it is a part of the wonderful whole. The
essence of Venice is a dreamy, poetic charm,--a charm of light, color,
and form, not of sound. Mrs. Oliphant writes:
“Venice has long borne in the imagination of the world a distinctive
position, something of the character of a great enchantress, a magician
of the seas.… She is all wonder, enchantment, the brightness and glory
of a dream.”
[Illustration: THE GRAND CANAL
_Looking across the canal we see here an example of the beautiful
palaces which line this famous thoroughfare._]
_SUPPLEMENTARY READING_
[Illustration]
Studies in the History of Venice _H. R. F. Brown_
Venice _H. R. F. Brown_
Makers of Venice _Mrs. Oliphant_
The Venetian Republic (two volumes) _W. C. Hazlitt_
Venetian Life _W. D. Howells_
St. Mark’s Rest _John Ruskin_
The Stones of Venice _John Ruskin_
Gondola Days _F. Hopkinson Smith_
Literary Landmarks of Venice _Laurence Hutton_
Pen Sketches _Finley Archer_
[Illustration]
_QUESTIONS ANSWERED_
Subscribers desiring further information concerning this subject can
obtain it by writing to
_The Mentor Association_
_381 Fourth Avenue, New York City_
[Illustration: ST. MARK’S CATHEDRAL, VENICE]
_VENICE_
_St. Mark’s Cathedral_