Ponte di Castelvecchio, also known as Ponte Scaligero, is a medieval bridge in Verona, on the Adige River, part of the fortress of Castelvecchio. SHORT HISTORY The bridge was built between 1354 and 1356 under the lordship of Cangrande II della Scala, to ensure the fortress of Castelvecchio with an escape route to the Adige Valley, in case of a riot by one of the enemy factions within the city. The structure of the bridge remained untouched for about five centuries, until 1802, when the French, following the Treaty of Lunéville, demolished the tower on the southern side and eliminated the battlements. In 1820, the battlements were reconstructed by the Austrians on the orders of Emperor Francis I of Austria. The bridge was destroyed on April 24, 1945, by the retreating Germans, along with all the other bridges in Verona. In the post-war period, the Municipality of Verona decided to rebuild it together with other important monuments lost during the Second World War. For the reconstruction project, the architect Piero Gazzola collaborated with the engineer Alberto Minghetti for the technical part and with the architect Libero Cecchini for the artistic part. The work began at the end of 1945, Read more [...]