One of the three commercially inhabited bridges in the world, and the oldest. This was the first stone constructed bridge after all the wooden ones burnt down or were washed away in the floods, the design was the result of a competition to solve the problem. The Rialto was also the commercial centre of Mediaeval Europe with traders and money lenders brokering deals from the south to the rest of Europe as well as the staging post for a few invasions elsewhere. Today you can stand on the top of the bridge and watch the water traffic pass beneath or pick up a few souvenirs from the many shops operating on it.