Historical analysis and reconstruction of the suspension bridge Leopoldo II in Poggio a Caiano, Italy

The bridge described in this paper was built at the beginning of the 19th century, thanks to the progress and to the industrial revolution.

In Poggio a Caiano, in Tuscany, a very old suspension bridge: “Leopoldo II” from the name of the Grand Duke; it is the very first wire suspension bridge in Italy not only for pedestrian and one of the first in the world. The bridge represented the advanced technology, the will to introduce scientific innovations in the art of construction. The Grand Duke Leopoldo II wanted the construction of the bridge in order to be not inferior to the other Sovereign in Europe.

The paper starts with a documentation of the design of the old bridge based on historic documents, presents a verification with numeric models of the old structure, and proposes different design strategies for the reconstruction of the bridge.

It is presents the story of the bridge and of the people who wanted it. Through the knowledge derived by a deep research in historical archives, we tried to understand the reasons and the will that regarded it. The experience and the knowledge that were available at that time are analyzed.

A proposal of reconstruction is made paying attention to the philosophy that was in the previous construction.

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