rialto

¹ American  

[ree-al-toh] / riˈæl toʊ /

noun

plural

rialtos

1. an exchange or mart.

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Rialto ² American  

[ree-al-toh, ree-ahl-taw] / riˈæl toʊ, riˈɑl tɔ /

noun

1. a commercial center in Venice, Italy, consisting of an island and the surrounding district.

2. a bridge spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy: constructed of marble in 1590.

3. a city in SW California, near Los Angeles.

4. the theater district of a city or town, especially the area around Broadway in New York City.

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Rialto ¹ British  

/ rɪˈæltəʊ /

noun

1. an island in Venice, Italy, linked with San Marco Island by the Rialto Bridge (1590) over the Grand Canal: the business centre of medieval and renaissance Venice

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rialto ² British  

/ rɪˈæltəʊ /

noun

1. a market or exchange

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Etymology

Origin of rialto

1590–1660; after the Rialto in Venice

Explanation

A rialto is a market, or anywhere that people gather in public. But you’ll nearly always find the word capitalized as part of a name for a plaza, square, theater, theater district, or commercial center. The original Rialto is the commercial center of Venice, Italy, which has had that name for centuries; the famous Rialto Bridge over Venice's Grand Canal, built in 1590, is named after it. The name Rialto is a contraction of Italian rivoalto, or "high bank," referring to an area on the left bank of the river that eventually became the Grand Canal. This area evolved into Venice’s commercial center, with markets, shops, and banks. Now, many things are named Rialto to lend them a glamorous or exotic air.

Example Sentences

But barring that, it’s hard to see how the rialto avoids dimming its lights once again.

From Washington Post • Dec. 20, 2021

This was not a rialto over Monet’s lily pads.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 6, 2020

Rob Marshall, Julie Andrews and Billy Joel are among the deep-pocketed locals committed to protecting Sag Harbor from an unwelcome fate as another seasonal resort town, or else a seaside boutique rialto.

From New York Times • Dec. 14, 2017

Lahr, the former drama critic for the New Yorker, occasional playwright and biographer of Joe Orton and other "theatricals," knows his way around the rialto.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2014

Sing you, in your clear contralto, Songs I write for the rialto.

From Something Else Again by Adams, Franklin P. (Franklin Pierce)

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