The “Viadotto dell’Industria” (''Industry viaduct''),
also known as "Bridge over the
Basento
The Basento (Latin ''Casuentus'') is a river in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. It rises at Monte Arioso in the southern Apennine Mountains, southwest of Potenza in the province of Potenza. The river flows northeast near Pignola and Po ...
" river or Musmeci Bridge, is a bridge in
Potenza
Potenza (, ; ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania).
Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one of ...
,
Basilicata
Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, that connects the Potenza city center exit on the Sicignano-Potenza motorway with the main access roads in the southern part of the city.
Designed by the Italian engineer Sergio Musmeci in 1967, and built between 1971 and 1976, the bridge perfectly incarnates Musmeci's architectural theories. The structure cost about 920,000,000
Italian lira
The lira ( , ; : lire, , ) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic), Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different s ...
s (equivalent to €4,000,000 in 2016).
The structure's uniqueness is due to its construction: it is made of only one membrane of
reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
(about thick) molded to form four contiguous arches.
The concrete sheet is shaped into a “finger-like” structure, which supports the whole bridge, and it is also used as a pedestrian walkway. The unique structure of the bridge has been the subject of several studies and discussions on its structure and form.
The bridge was built without using prefabricated elements.
[ Edilstrade Forlì-Castrocaro company constructed the bridge.
Plans and drawings of the bridge are collected in the “Musmeci Sergio and Zanini Zenaide archive” which in 1997 was declared of great historical interest by the archival superintendents of ]Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
. Then in 2003, it was referred by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture
The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MOHT) is the governmental body in the Sultanate of Oman responsible for promoting and preserving Omani heritage and tourism.
The current Minister of Heritage and Tourism is Salem bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi ...
as an example of architecture from the 20th century in the MAXXI
MAXXI (, 'national museum of 21st-century arts') is a national museum of contemporary art and architecture in the Flaminio neighborhood of Rome, Italy. The museum is managed by a foundation created by the Italian Ministry of Culture. The buildi ...
(The National Museum of the 21st Century Arts, Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
). In 2003, the bridge was declared a “monument of cultural interest” by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture.
Cultural impact
The bridge inspired the virtuosic piano piece The Arching Path by Christopher Cerrone
Christopher Cerrone (born March 5, 1984) is an American composer based in New York City. He was a 2014 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a 2014 Fromm Foundation commission recipient, a 2015 Rome Prize winner in Music Composition, and has received nu ...
.
See also
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References
External links
Sergio Musmeci's funky concrete bridgeConcrete truth - Basento Bridge photo gallery
{{coord, 40.6278, N, 15.8058, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Bridges in Italy