Ponte dei Pugni

From the Ponte dei Pugni, looking towards Campo San Barnaba £285 

Another from last week's trip to Venice. I painted this one standing on the Ponte dei Pugni (which means bridge of fists), looking towards Campo San Barnaba which is one of my favourite spots in Venice. The large white building you can see on the right hand side is the Church of San Barnaba.
The ponte I was painting from is a bridge with an interesting history though - in the 17th century rival clans used to meet here to fight. In fact there are four footprints marked in stone, one on each corner of the bridge, to show where opponents should stand! Apparently the bridge had no railings at the time so you can only imagine the shouting and jeering and mayhem going on as grown men fell into the murky canal below. I bet it was quite a spectator sport.