And the winner is:  Erikeno who recommended the Rialto Bridge!  What a great idea!  You can collect your prize in person in September!

Honorable mention goes to JBragg with the suggestion of Raku ware from Japan.  Thank you JBragg! Here’s a picture for you:

But, back to dreamy thoughts of the Rialto…

It turns out that early versions of this beloved, gorgeous ponte di rialto were made of wood and kept collapsing.  About 1585, it was decided to build the bridge in stone and a Swiss-born engineer/architect known as Antonio da Ponte (1512 – 1595) (Anthony of the bridge, are you kidding me?), helped design and build the bridge that has since become a major symbol of Venice.

Check out this link for the latest and greatest information.

http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000461