Footbridge in History

The aim of this paper is to present some historical bridges that explain the importance of these works of art in terms of culture, as part of a broader context of landscape and meaning. They are pedestrian bridges that cross through places and time, each of which expresses its own genius loci through the history and events that have involved them. The bridge, in fact, should not be considered as simply an object characterized by its own formal image, the result of consolidated construction technology; instead, it becomes part of the very context in which it stands when it embraces the meaning, history and tangible and intangible components of the place. This is why the paper will describe various footbridges that in different ways each express a strong tie with the history and the meaning of their location and the surrounding landscape. From the Pont du Gard, the ancient Roman aqueduct included on the World Heritage List, now able to be crossed at the various levels and part of a huge UNESCO-protected nature and archaeological park, to the Mediaeval bridges of the devil, the symbols and legend of the location in which they stand; or indeed the Mostar Bridge, representing the rejoining of the banks after destruction at war; the Istanbul aqueducts, offering the opportunity of requalifying the place and giving rise to new landscape offerings; or finally, the Venice Calatrava Bridge, an emblematic example of the contrast of the old and the new, expressing the conflict that can be generated by the inclusion of a new architecture into a historic context bursting with meanings.

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