The Ponte Vecchio is a stone and brick

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct (a ...

over the

Dora Baltea Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long. Name The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duria Bautica''. Strabo called it Δουρ� ...

Ivrea Ivrea (; pms, Ivrèja ; ; lat, Eporedia) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it stradd ...

, Italy.

History

Archaeological studies have shown that a bridge existed in this site as far back as at time of the Romans. The bridge was destroyed and reconstructed several times across the centuries due to floods. In 1707, it was demolished during the French siege of Ivrea to better defend the town. In 1716,

Victor Amadeus II Victor Amadeus II (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of Prince of Piedmont, Duke of Montferrat, Marquis of Saluzzo and Count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice. Louis XIV ...

ordered its reconstruction. The bridge was later widened in 1830 by Charles Felix to improve traffic inflow and outflow from Ivrea. Nonetheless, in 1860 an additional bridge, the Ponte Isabella, had to be built next to it to provide for additional capacity.

Description

The structure consists of a triple-arch stone and brick bridge.

Gallery

File:Ponte Vecchio sulla Dora Baltea Ivrea.jpg File:Ivrea Ponte Vecchio 6.jpg File:Ponte Vecchio Ivrea iscrizione.jpg

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Ponte Vecchio (Ivrea) Bridges in Piedmont Arch bridges Buildings and structures in Ivrea

Vecchio ''Vecchio'' (; plural ''vecchi'', meaning "old one" or simply "old"), is a category of aged, male characters from the Italian ''commedia dell'arte''. The primary members of this group are Pantalone, Il Dottore Robert Henke ''Performance and litera ...

Tourist attractions in Piedmont