Ponte del Risorgimento (or briefly Ponte Risorgimento) is a bridge that links Piazzale delle Belle Arti to Piazza Monte Grappa in

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, ...

(Italy), in the Flaminio and Della Vittoria quarters.

History and description

The bridge links the area of

Lungotevere delle Armi Lungotevere delle Armi (Italian language, Italian for ''Lungotevere of the Weapons'') is the stretch of Lungotevere that links Piazza Monte Grappa to Piazza delle Cinque Giornate in Rome (Italy), in Della Vittoria District.Rendina-Paradisi, p. 132 ...

to Piazzale delle Belle Arti. The works for the building began in 1909 and were completed two years later. The bridge was designed and built by Giovanni Antonio Porcheddu, with the cooperation of the engineers Giaj and Parvopassu, on the occasion of the exhibition for celebrating the 50th anniversary of Italian unification. It is the first bridge in Rome made in

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 ...

, since its creator, at that time, was the only Italian dealer of the patent of the Belgian

François Hennebique François Hennebique (26 April 1842 – 7 March 1921) was a French engineer and self-educated builder who patented his pioneering reinforced-concrete construction system in 1892, integrating separate elements of construction, such as the column ...

. The day of the inauguration (April 17, 1911), the spectators doubted that the structure, after the removal of the supporting scaffoldings, wouldn't have stood up; on the contrary, Porcheddu was so sure about the effectiveness and reliability of the new technique that he wanted to attend the demolition of the scaffolding on a little boat just below the arch of the bridge, together with his two youngest kids, Giuseppe and Ambrogia. During the ceremony, King

Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...

offered Porcheddu the epithet "King of reinforced concrete". In the middle of the bridge, on both bulwarks, are two inscriptions: on one side, and on the other.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Risorgimento, Ponte Bridges completed in 1911 Bridges in Rome Stone bridges in Italy Rome Q. I Flaminio Rome Q. XV Della Vittoria 1911 establishments in Italy