Ponte San Lorenzo
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Ponte San Lorenzo
OR:
Ponte San Lorenzo on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The Ponte San Lorenzo is a
Roman bridge 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 ...
over the river
Bacchiglione __NOTOC__ The Bacchiglione ( la, Medoacus Minor, "Little Medoacus") is a river that flows in Veneto, northern Italy. It rises in the Alps and empties about later into the Brenta River near Chioggia. It flows through and past a number of cities, i ...
in
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Constructed between 47 and 30 BC, it is one of the very earliest segmental arched bridges in the world. It is also notable for the slenderness of its
pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
s, unsurpassed in antiquity.


Location

The Ponte San Lorenzo was one of four
Roman bridge 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 ...
s in ancient Padua crossing the Medoacus (modern Bacchiglione). Located in the ''Via San Francesco'', the three-arched bridge is today for the most part framed by surrounding buildings, which have moved closer to the river over the centuries. Only its eastern arch spanning the restricted waterway was largely visible until the middle of the 20th century, when it too disappeared from view as the remaining canal was filled up to the ''Riviera del Ponti Romani'' street. The intact arches of the bridge still exist below street level and can be visited at fixed times by the public.Il Ponte romano di San Lorenzo
/ref> Earthworks in 1773 and 1938, during which parts of the bridge were temporarily excavated, were used for archaeological investigations. Two further Roman bridges in Padua are obstructed from sight, the Ponte Corbo, also located in the ''Via San Francesco'', and the completely inaccessible Ponte Altinate in the ''Via Altinate''. Both bridges also rest on segmented arches, as does the above-ground Ponte Molino. The fifth Roman bridge in town is the Ponte S. Matteo close to the
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
of the same name.


Construction

The Ponte San Lorenzo is 53.30 m long and 8.35 m wide. The date of its construction is fixed by a bridge inscription to between 47 and 30 BC. The bridge is of particular importance in the history of ancient technology for its flattened arches and slender piers. Its three arches span 12.8 m, 14.4 m and 12.5 m, with the span 3.7 times the rise, or, differently put, describing a segment of a circle of 113°. The profile of the structure thus considerably differs from the typical Roman semi-circular bridge arch with its value of 180°. The pier thickness of Roman bridges varies—as far as determined—between one half and one fifth of the span. Small piers offer less resistance to the water flow, thus reducing the risk of undermined foundations. On the other hand, all piers have to be strong enough to accommodate two arch ribs. The pier thickness of the Ponte San Lorenzo measures only 1.72 m, which corresponds to no more than one eighth of the span of the central opening, a value not to be achieved again until the
High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...
.


See also

*
List of Roman bridges This is a list of Roman bridges. The Romans were the world's first major bridge builders. The following list constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges. A Roman bridge in the sense of this article includes an ...
*
Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome ...
* Roman engineering


References


Sources

* *


External links


Il Ponte romano di San Lorenzo
* {{DEFAULTSORT:San Lorenzo, Ponte Roman bridges in Italy Roman segmental arch bridges Deck arch bridges Stone bridges in Italy Bridges completed in the 1st century BC Bridges in Padua Tourist attractions in Veneto