Leonardo da Vinci proposed a bridge across the Golden Horn near Constantinople, now Istanbul.
Around 1502, Leonardo sent or offered a bridge concept to Sultan Bayezid II. The design would have formed a very broad single span over the inlet, linking the city with the district of Galata. Its unusual geometry was intended to provide strength without many supporting piers in the water.
The bridge was not built during Leonardo’s lifetime. A modern pedestrian bridge inspired by the proposal was constructed in Norway in 2001, demonstrating that the basic structural concept could be made practical with modern materials.
The Golden Horn is not the Bosphorus. It is a horn-shaped inlet connected to the Bosphorus and forms an important natural harbor of Istanbul.