Hannibal's Bridge ( it, Ponte Annibale) is apparently one of the oldest structures, dating back to Roman imperial times, in the city of

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, located in the Liguria region of northern Italy. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and Chiavar ...

, Italy. This bridge was possibly used by Carthaginian commander

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

during his campaign against Rome in the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

, where he possibly unloaded supplies on the Tigullia coast (region from Portofino to Anzo di Framura). The bridge could also be connected to the

Battle of Trebbia The Battle of the Trebia (or Trebbia) was the first major battle of the Second Punic War, fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and a Roman army under Sempronius Longus on 22 or 23 December 218 BC. It took place on the flood p ...

(218 BC). The structure's name first appears in a notary deed dated 7 April 1049, where it is claimed that "Rainaldo donated some land near the bridge to the Genovese Church of Santa Maria di Castello". The bridge was renovated in 1733 after widespread flooding. Ninety years later, after the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

had annexed all of Liguria, the final section of the creek that the bridge spanned was diverted to construct a new road to Santa Margherita. Today, the overgrown bridge is closed off to the public but is visibly located in downtown Rapallo, crossing over the Corso Cristoforo Colombo thoroughfare to Santa Margherita.

References

1. Regione Liguria - http://www.TerrediPortifino.eu 2. "Empires Ascendant" Timeframe 400BC to 200AD. Time-Life Series. United States
Librarything.com
Roman sites of Liguria Roman bridges in Italy Rapallo {{italy-bridge-struct-stub