A road bridge with a winged lion on its parapet, at the northern tip of the Lido. No published source we could find tells its story: this page says what is known, what is believed, and what is still missing.
At a glance
The Ponte San Nicolò crosses the canal at the northern end of the Lido, between the church and former monastery of San Nicolò and the Nicelli airport, in the stretch of island that ends at the San Nicolò inlet and the lighthouse. It is a single stone arch with brick parapets; in the middle of the parapet a carved winged lion of Saint Mark stands between two shields. OpenStreetMap records it as a road bridge under the name Ponte San Nicolò.
What this page does not say. We searched the Comune di Venezia’s pages on the San Nicolò area and its catalogue of the Lido’s architecture, Visit Lido, Conoscere Venezia and the usual guides: none of them describes this bridge, its date or its builder (the «Ponte San Nicolò» of Conoscere Venezia is a different bridge, in Dorsoduro). The dates and names below are therefore not documented; what is attributed to the photographer’s research and site visits is marked as such.
Key facts
- Where: northern end of the Lido, by the church of San Nicolò (Riviera San Nicolò) and the Nicelli airport
- Structure: a single stone arch with brick parapets (as seen in the photographs)
- Decoration: a carved winged lion of Saint Mark with an open book, between two shields, set into the parapet
- Date and builder: not documented in any published source found so far
- GPS: 45.4273, 12.3796 · Open in Google Maps (OpenStreetMap)
What is known, and what is believed
The place around the bridge is well documented. The church of San Nicolò, founded in the eleventh century, gives its name to the natural area at the northern tip of the island, which the Comune di Venezia describes as a strip about a kilometre and a half long, from the southern breakwater of the Lido inlet to the bathing establishments, with a pine wood bordering the Nicelli airport. The inlet is the main sea entrance to the port of Venice; the Republic protected it with the fort of San Nicolò on the Lido and the fort of Sant’Andrea on the island opposite.
On the bridge itself, what we have is the field work of Stefano Vigolo, the photographer who has documented hundreds of Venetian buildings for this site. He photographed it in September 2014 and identifies it as the Ponte San Nicolò beside the church, pointing out the lion and the two shields on the parapet. On the basis of his research and site visits, the bridge is believed to be a public work of the first half of the twentieth century, contemporary with the airport and the telemetry tower behind it — a belief, not a documented fact. The date carved or recorded anywhere, the engineer, and the meaning of the two shields remain open questions.
What you see
A low single arch in stone over the canal, with small boats moored under it, and brick parapets on both sides. In the middle of the parapet a stone slab carries a winged lion with an open book, flanked by two shields. Looking across the bridge, the white terminal building of the Nicelli airport and the tall concrete telemetry tower rise behind the trees; behind the photographer stand the church and the former monastery.
Do you know more about this bridge?
If you know the date of the bridge, who built it, what the two shields are, or a document, a plaque or a photograph that tells its story, write to Sofia at sofia@culturalheritageonline.com or through the contact page. What arrives with a source goes into this page, with your name as the contributor.
Nearby
- San Nicolò al Lido — the Doge’s church at the mouth of the lagoon, a few steps away
- Torre Telemetrica di San Nicolò — the concrete tower behind the airport
- Nicelli airport — the 1930s terminal on the other side of the bridge
Sources
- Comune di Venezia, Area naturale di San Nicolò: the northern tip of the island, the church founded in the eleventh century, the pine wood bordering the Nicelli airport, the breakwater of the inlet
- Visit Lido, The port and the lighthouse of San Nicolò: the inlet as the main sea entrance to the port, the forts of San Nicolò and Sant’Andrea, the lighthouse, the Nicelli airport
- Stefano Vigolo, field research and site visits at the Lido (photographs of 28 September 2014, notes to the editorial staff, 2026): identification of the bridge, the lion and the two shields. Not a published source: the attributions drawn from it are marked as beliefs in the text
- OpenStreetMap, Ponte San Nicolò, Lido: the name and the coordinates of the road bridge
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