The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and keystones. There were three major types of Roman bridge: wooden, pontoon, and stone. Early Roman bridges were wooden, but by the 2nd century stone was being used. Stone bridges used the arch as their basic structure, and most used concrete, the first use of this material in bridge-building.
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 may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today.
Eugène Freyssinet was a French structural and civil engineer. He was the major pioneer of prestressed concrete.
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres (194 mi) long. The highest point of the drainage basin is the summit of la Spedla, at 4,020 metres (13,190 ft).
The Landwasser Viaduct is a single-track six-arched curved limestone railway viaduct. It spans the Landwasser between Schmitten and Filisur, in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland.
Trezzo sull'Adda is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Milan on the Adda River.
The Alconétar Bridge, also known as Puente de Mantible, was a Roman segmental arch bridge in the Extremadura region, Spain. The ancient structure, which featured flattened arches with a span-to-rise ratio of 4–5:1, is one of the earliest of its kind. Due to its design, it is assumed that the bridge was erected in the early 2nd century AD by the emperors Trajan or Hadrian, possibly under the guidance of Apollodorus of Damascus, the most famous architect of the time.
Ponte della Maddalena is a bridge crossing the Serchio river near the town of Borgo a Mozzano in the Italian province of Lucca. It's one of numerous medieval bridges known as Ponte del Diavolo, the "Bridge of the Devil", it was a vital river crossing on the Via Francigena, an early medieval road to Rome for those coming from France that was an important medieval pilgrimage route.
The Castel Vecchio Bridge or Scaliger Bridge is a fortified bridge in Verona, northern Italy, over the Adige River. The segmental arch bridge featured the world's largest span at the time of its construction.
The Pont du Diable or Pont Vieux is a medieval stone arch bridge at Céret, France, built between 1321 and 1341. It spans the Tech River with a single arch of 45.45 metres (149.1 ft). At its apex, the arch is 22.3 metres (73 ft) high.
The Pont Grand is a stone bridge connecting Tournon-sur-Rhône to Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, in Ardèche, France, built between 1379 and 1583. The bridge features a single, semi-circular arch over the river Doux with a span of 49.20 m. The height of the piers is 17.73 m.
The Puente de San Martín is a medieval bridge across the river Tagus in Toledo, Spain.
Pont de Vieille-Brioude is located in France, crossing the river Allier. It is a masonry arch bridge with a span of 45 metres (148 ft) that was built in 1832.
The Nyons Bridge is a medieval bridge over the river Eygues in Nyons in southern France.
The Pont de Pierre, meaning "Stone Bridge", is a Roman bridge in the Italian city of Aosta in the Aosta Valley. The bridge crossed the Buthier about 600 m (2,000 ft) from the eastern exit of the Roman colony Augusta Praetoria; in later times the torrente changed its course, leaving the ancient bridge today without water.
The first Wearmouth Bridge was the second major bridge to be made from cast iron. It was considered one of the wonders of the industrial age, and was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as being 'a triumph of the new metallurgy and engineering ingenuity [...] of superb elegance'.
The Visconti Castle of Trezzo was a mediaeval castle built between 1370 and 1377 by Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, at Trezzo sull’Adda, Lombardy, Northern Italy. It included a massive tower, 42-meter high, and a fortified bridge on the Adda river on a single arch with a record 72-meter span.
The San Michele Bridge, also known as the Paderno Bridge, is a multi-level rail and road truss arch bridge across the Adda River in Lombardy, Italy. The bridge connects Paderno d'Adda, Lecco on the west bank with Calusco d'Adda, Bergamo on the east bank.
