The historical Ponte Pietra
One of the historical monuments
The Ponte Pietra is one of the historical symbols of the city of Verona!
Made in wood for the first time in the 89th a.C., year in which Verona became one of the Latin colonies, the Ponte Pietra is located on the Adige river and separates the right bank from the left one.
In fact, its location has always been strategic, with the aim of connecting the streets of the city.
The history that surrounds the two thousand years of life of the Ponte Pietra is long and definitely troubled.
The numerous collapses
His first collapse occurred at the end of the second century, for which some claim was partial, others total.
After being rebuilt, in 1007 a great flood destroyed it again. Also in this case, it underwent reconstruction work and then collapsed in 1125.
The collapse of 1232 was particularly serious, during which even the arches of the bridge collapsed, subsequently rebuilt first in wood and then in terracotta.
The Ponte Pietra was still a victim of other collapses and devastating damage following the floods of the river Adige but it was, always, rebuilt.
No doubt, however, the greatest devastation was that of human beings!
On April 25, 1945, in fact, the German troops, in retreat from the Second World War, did not respect the pact not to damage works and citizens and, with a mine, exploded the historic bridge.
In this last destruction only the archway facing the city survived.
The last reconstruction
The renovation work began in 1956, thanks to the commitment of the architect Piero Gazzola and his partnership with what in the future would become very famous in the sector: the Veronese architect Libero Cecchini.
Fortunately, in this reconstruction it was possible to use the material of the surviving bridge still lying on the river bed.
For the other pieces such as - for example - those that date back to the Roman period, 529 pieces of marble from S. Ambrogio della Valpolicella were used.
This different use of materials represents the thousand vicissitudes crossed by the Ponte Pietra and helps to better and more easily recognize the original parts and those completely rebuilt.
The Ponte Pietra is configured, today, as a donkey back with five symmetrical arches, structurally very different from the original one of the Roman period, and of an irregular shape, through which flows the flow of the Adige.
What the historical bridge teaches us
If you are planning to book one of our comfortable apartments Verona Easy Apartments, you can admire the beauty of the picturesque bridge, reachable in 15 minutes on foot, walking on Lungadige Sammicheli and Re Todorico!
Finally, the Ponte Pietra, besides being one of the historical monuments symbol of Verona, can give us an important teaching: despite the thousand collapses it shows us that we can survive distaster and human wickedness and reborn - like a phoenix - from its ashes.