The Admiral's Bridge (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: Ponte dell'Ammiraglio) is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

bridge of

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, located in Piazza Scaffa. It was built over the

Oreto River The Oreto is a river in Sicily. Its source is located between Altofonte and Monreale, a few kilometers from Palermo. It gives the name to the Oreto Valley and crosses the south-east portion of the city before flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea. C ...

during the era of the

Norman Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of ...

by the '' ammiratus ammiratorum''

George of Antioch George of Antioch (Greek: Γεώργιος ό Άντιοχεύς; 1080 – died 1151 or 1152Al-Maqrizi, ''Kitab al-Tarikh al-Muqaffa li-Misr,'' in ''Arabic Administration in Norman Sicily: The Royal Dīwān,'' ed. and trans. Jeremy Johns, (Cambr ...

. In 2015, it became a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

as part of a series of nine civil and religious structures inscribed as Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale.

History

According to a legend, the bridge is situated in the place where the

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

appeared to the Norman Count

Roger I of Sicily Roger I (; ; ; Norse: ''Rogeirr''; 1031 – 22 June 1101), nicknamed "Roger Bosso" and "Grand Count Roger", was a Norman nobleman who became the first Grand Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. As a member of the House of Hauteville, he parti ...

helping him to conquer Palermo, at that time an Islamic bastion. It was completed in 1131, a year after the incoronation of

Roger II Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became ...

as first

King of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which oc ...

. The construction was supervised by the admiral George of Antioch, the most powerful man of the Kingdom after Roger II. The bridge had the function to connect the capital to the royal gardens located across the Oreto River, like the Favara Park. Even now, the structure represents a symbol connecting the historic centre to the peripheral quarter of

Brancaccio Brancaccio is the 12th district of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy. It is located in the south-eastern outskirts of the city and is included in the 2nd municipal division. The area of the district appears today as densely urbanized, despite the fact th ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the Oreto Valley was rich in flora, especially

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

. A great "'' dattileto''" stood near the bridge, but it was destroyed in 1314 – during the long-lasting war between the dynasties of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

- by the Count of Marzano, ally of

Robert of Anjou Robert of Anjou (), known as Robert the Wise (; 1276 – 20 January 1343), was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of Italian politics of his time. He was the thir ...

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first Sicilian Vespers, separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou ...

. In the following centuries, besides the agriculture, the Oreto Valley became a place of manufacturing for sugar cane, paper and other production activities. The profitable production of sugar led to the creation of vast plantations of sugar cane and also to a massive deforestation in certain zones of the Conca d'Oro. This problem represented the first reason for the series of floods that hit the city during the last few centuries. Since then, the bridge has been repeatedly damaged by flooding of the river. For this reason, as long ago as 1775, an attempt was made to divert the river. However, it was not until 1938 that the Oreto was definitely diverted and canalized. Seven years before, in February 1931, Palermo had been plagued by a terrible

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

. Thanks to its strategic position, on 27 May 1860, the bridge was the place of a famous battle between the ''Red Shirts'' of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

and the army of the

House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate male line through Phili ...

during the

Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand () was an event of the unification of Italy that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto al Mare near Genoa and landed in Marsala, Sicily, in order to conquer the Ki ...

. In 2015, it became a

as part of a series of nine civil and religious structures inscribed as Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale.

References

External links

Official site of Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale
* {{in lang, it}

Arab-Norman architecture in Palermo Ammiraglio Ammiraglio Tourist attractions in Palermo Buildings and structures completed in 1131 World Heritage Sites in Italy Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale

History

See also

References

External links