Canale ponterosso trieste, A canal in Trieste, Italy.

Canale Ponterosso is a narrow canal in the center of Trieste that runs from the sea into the city, ending at Piazza Sant'Antonio Nuovo. Historic buildings line both banks, and several bridges cross the water at different points along its length.

The canal was dug between 1754 and 1756 by the Venetian entrepreneur Matteo Pirona, who deepened the main collector of the salt pans after these were filled in to allow the city to expand beyond its walls. Boats could then reach the centre to load and unload goods. Its final stretch, which once ran as far as the church of Sant'Antonio, was buried in 1934 with rubble from the demolition of the old city, creating today's Piazza Sant'Antonio.

Piazza Ponterosso beside the Red Bridge hosts an open-air market for fruit, vegetables and flowers; the vendors, called venderigole, once called out to customers, a cry no longer heard as the market has shrunk. The Stella Polare café, one of Trieste's historic cafés, faces Piazza Sant'Antonio at the canal's end.

The canal is an easy walk from the main train station, through flat streets in the city center. Buses also stop nearby at Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi, making it reachable from different parts of the city without difficulty.

The Ponte Rosso's four parapet lanterns once decorated the statue of Trieste's dedication to Austria, unveiled in front of the railway station in 1889 and removed in 1919. The statue is gone, but its lamps still stand at the bridge ends.