Visconti Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 45°21′17″N10°43′33″E / 45.35472°N 10.72583°E |
Carries | Two-lane road |
Crosses | Mincio River |
Locale | Valeggio sul Mincio |
Characteristics | |
Design | Dam, then viaduct |
Material | Stone and Bricks |
Total length | 525 metres (1,722 ft) |
Width | 22 metres (72 ft) |
Height | 9 metres (30 ft) |
History | |
Designer | Domenico da Firenze, also known as Domenico di Benintendi di Guidone |
Constructed by | Gian Galeazzo Visconti |
Opened | End of 14th century |
Closed | From 1701 to the beginning of the 20th century |
Location | |
The Visconti Bridge at Valeggio sul Mincio is a medieval viaduct over the Mincio River built at the end of the 14th century by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. Initially conceived as a fortified dam to divert the Mincio water flowing to Mantua, it has served as a bridge since then. [1] Today, the ruined central span over the Mincio is replaced by a steel structure. [2]
In 1393, when his relationship with Francesco I Gonzaga, lord of Mantua, suffered a crisis, Gian Galeazzo Visconti began building a dam on the Mincio river to divert its water from its natural course. The initial objective of that construction was to dry out the three lakes surrounding Mantua, fed by the Mincio's water. Interrupting the river's flow would have made Mantua defenseless and even uninhabitable. [3]
In addition to the dam's construction, the project implied excavating a canal through the hills separating the Mincio from the Adige River, toward which the water would have flown. Despite the enormity of the excavation required for the canal, the Gonzagas and their allies became convinced of Gian Galeazzo's intention to divert the Mincio's water permanently. [4]
The canal excavation was probably interrupted in the autumn of 1393 due to a flood of the Mincio, which damaged its initial course. The objective of the complete diversion of the Mincio's water was soon considered unachievable and abandoned. The dam could still represent a means to weaken Mantua's defense by temporarily interrupting water flow toward the three lakes. [5]
The dam is 525 metres (1,722 ft) meters long. To resist the pressure of water expected to be collected in the reservoir formed by the Mincio, it is 25 metres (82 ft) meters wide at the base and 22 metres (72 ft) meters wide at the top. [6] Four fortified towers complement the construction. The two outermost towers had a drawbridge to control the dam's access and the passage from one side of the valley to the other. Between the two central towers, the dam had four transverse tunnels through which the Mincio water could flow. A mechanism inside the tunnels allowed the interruption of the water flow. [7]
The engineer Domenico da Firenze, also known as Domenico di Benintendi di Guidone, led the project. Despite his failure to divert the Mincio, Gian Galeazzo Visconti commissioned him with a similar project a few years later to divert the Brenta River near Bassano del Grappa and deprive Padua of its water. [8]
The Visconti's dominion ceased in the 15th century, and the dam project was definitively abandoned. Since then, the dam has been used to cross the Mincio Valley. In 1701, the French blew up the central part, under which the Mincio flowed, to prevent the imperial army under the command of Eugene of Savoy from crossing the Mincio. At the beginning of the 20th century, the demolished section was replaced with a steel structure, and the bridge reopened. [2]
The bridge's 600th anniversary was celebrated in 1993. Since then, every year, on the third Tuesday in June, a 1.5 km long double row of tables is organized along the entire bridge to celebrate an ample feast called "Festa del nodo d'amore" (Party of the Love Knot). [9]
Gian Galeazzo Visconti, was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the founding patron of the Certosa di Pavia, completing the Visconti Castle at Pavia begun by his father and furthering work on the Duomo of Milan. He captured a large territory of Northern Italy and the Po valley. He threatened war with France in relation to the transfer of Genoa to French control as well as issues with his beloved daughter Valentina. When he died of fever in the Castello of Melegnano, his children fought with each other and fragmented the territories that he had ruled.
The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the Visconti Lordship of Milan was the Archbishop Ottone, who wrested control of the city from the rival Della Torre family in 1277.
The Duchy of Milan was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277.
The province of Verona is a province of the Veneto region in Italy. On its northwestern border, Lake Garda—Italy's largest—is divided between Verona and the provinces of Brescia and Trentino. Its capital is the city of Verona. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he and Galeazzo II were rumoured to have murdered their brother Matteo since he endangered the regime. When Galeazzo II died, he shared Milan's lordship with his nephew Gian Galeazzo. Bernabò was a ruthless despot toward his subjects and did not hesitate to face emperors and popes, including Pope Urban V. The conflict with the Church caused him several excommunications. On 6 May 1385, his nephew Gian Galeazzo deposed him. Imprisoned in his castle, Trezzo sull'Adda, he died a few months later, presumably from poisoning.
Goito is a comune with a population of 10,005 in the Province of Mantua in Lombardy. Goito is 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Mantua on the road leading to Brescia and Lake Garda, and straddles the old east–west Via Postumia between Cremona and Verona. The town is on the right bank of the Mincio River at a key crossing. The birthplace of Sordello, Goito is part of the historic region known as Alto Mantovano and was the site of a notable fortress.
Valeggio sul Mincio is a commune in the Province of Verona, region of Veneto, Italy, located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Venice and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Verona. It is crossed by the Mincio river. Its frazione of Borghetto is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Beatrice Regina della Scala was Lady of Milan by marriage to Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, and politically active as the adviser of her spouse.
Agnese Visconti also known as Agnes was a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala. She was the consort of Mantua by her marriage to Francesco I Gonzaga.
Bianca of Savoy was Lady of Milan by marriage to Galeazzo II Visconti.
A bridge castle is a type of castle that was built to provide military observation and security for a river crossing. In the narrower sense it refers to castles that are built directly on or next to a bridge. Sometimes, however, castles close to a bridge are referred to as bridge castles.
The Rocca Borromeo di Angera, or Rocca d'Angera, also called Borromeo Castle, is a rocca on a hilltop above the town of Angera in the Province of Varese on the southern shores of Lago Maggiore. It has medieval origins and initially belonged to the Milanese archbishop. It passed then to the Visconti of Milan and later to the Borromeos, who are still the owners.
The Mincio Cycleway is a 43.5-kilometre (27.0 mi) segregated cycle track along the towpath of the River Mincio, connecting the lakeside towns of Peschiera del Garda and Mantua.
The Visconti Castle of Bereguardo, Castello Visconteo of Bereguardo in Italian, is a medieval castle in Via Castello 2, Bereguardo, Province of Pavia, Lombardy, Italy.
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.
Visconti Park was the private park of the Visconti and Sforza families, lords, and dukes of Milan. Located in Lombardy, northern Italy, it extended between Pavia Castle and the Certosa di Pavia monastery. It covered an area of about 2,200 hectares (22 km2) and was encircled by walls about 25 kilometres (16 mi) in length. It was founded in 1360 by Galeazzo II Visconti and enlarged by his son Gian Galeazzo.
The Visconti Castle of Abbiategrasso is a medieval castle in Abbiategrasso, Lombardy, northern Italy. It was among the first Visconti castles built according to their typical quadrangular layout. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it was one of the preferred residences of the duchesses of Milan of the Visconti and Sforza houses. Today, the castle's surviving part serves as the seat of the municipality of Abbiategrasso.
The Ponte dei Mulini is the name attached to the mainly man-made separations made across the Mincio River at Mantua, region of Lombardy, Italy. Never truly one "bridge" however the harnessed passage of the water from the upper, Lago Superiore, to the lower Lago di Mezzo, has been utilized by the local inhabitants to power mills for nearly 900 years, and hydroelectric generation in the present.
The Visconti Castle of Pavia is a medieval castle in Pavia, Lombardy, Northern Italy. It was built after 1360 in a few years by Galeazzo II Visconti, Lord of Milan, and used as a sovereign residence by him and his son Gian Galeazzo, first duke of Milan. Its wide dimensions induced Petrarch, who visited Pavia in the fall of 1365, to call it "an enormous palace in the citadel, a truly remarkable and costly structure". Adjacent to the castle, the Visconti created a vast walled park that reached the Certosa di Pavia, a Carthusian monastery founded in 1396 by the Visconti as well and located about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the north.
The Visconti Castle of Monza was a medieval castle in Monza, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its construction was initiated at the behest of Galeazzo I Visconti in the 14th century. In 1527, a revolt by the citizens of Monza demolished its tallest tower, marking the beginning of the castle's destruction. Today, only a small tower on the Lambro River survives, along with the remains of a drawbridge.