Ponte San Lorenzo (Padua)

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Coordinates: 45 ° 24 '22 "  N , 11 ° 52' 40"  E

Ponte San Lorenzo
Convicted Via San Francesco
Crossing of Bacchiglione
place Padua ( Italy )
construction Segment arch bridge with vaulted vaults
overall length 53.30 m
width 8.35 m
Number of openings 3
Clear width 14.4 m (middle arch)
Pillar strength 1.72 m
Arrow ratio 3.7 to 1 (medium arch)
Flow profile 8.4 to 1 (middle sheet)
construction time Between 47 and 30 BC Chr.
Status Built in
location
Ponte San Lorenzo (Padua) (Veneto)
Ponte San Lorenzo (Padua)

The Ponte San Lorenzo is a Roman segment arch bridge in Padua ( Italy ). The bridge in the old town has been in a remarkable state of being built up by the surrounding buildings for centuries. In terms of architectural history , the Ponte San Lorenzo is of outstanding importance as one of the first segment arch bridges in the world and due to its slender pillars that were unmatched in antiquity . The structure was built between 47 and 30 BC. Built in BC.

location

The Ponte San Lorenzo was one of four bridges in the Roman city of Padua that led over the Medoacus, today's Bacchiglione . The three-arched bridge is located in Via San Francesco , where it is largely framed on both sides by buildings that have moved closer to the river arm over the centuries. Only the eastern arch, as it spanned the constrained river bed, was still largely visible until the middle of the 20th century, when the remaining canal, today's Riviera del Ponti Romani , was filled in. The intact arcades of the bridge have been preserved under the modern pavement and can be viewed at fixed opening times. Earthworks in 1773 and 1938, during which parts of the bridge were temporarily exposed, were used for more detailed archaeological investigations.

Interestingly, there are two more Roman bridges in Padua in a built-up state: the Ponte Corbo, also located in Via San Francesco , and the completely inaccessible Ponte Altinate . Both structures also rest on segmental arches, as does the above-ground Ponte Molino . The fifth ancient city bridge is the Ponte S. Matteo, near the church of the same name .

construction

The Ponte San Lorenzo is 53.30 m long and 8.35 m wide. Based on a bridge inscription, its construction can be traced back to the period between 47 and 30 BC. Limit Chr. Its segment arches and very slim pillars, which are exceptionally flat for ancient bridge construction , make it of particular interest in terms of the history of technology. Its three arches have spans of 12.8 m, 14.4 m and 12.5 m, which corresponds to 3.7 times the stitch height or, in other words, describes a segment of a circle of 113 °. This means that the Ponte San Lorenzo has a significantly flatter profile than the semi-circular arch bridges (180 °) normally preferred by Roman bridge builders.

As far as investigated, the pillar widths of Roman bridges varied between half and a fifth of the span; narrow pillars reduce the risk of undercutting by offering less resistance to the flow. The bridge piers of the Ponte San Lorenzo are 1.72 m wide, which is only one eighth of the span of the central arch. Such low pillar strengths were only achieved again in the High Middle Ages .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c O'Connor (1993), p. 171
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g O'Connor (1993), p. 92
  3. ↑ a b O'Connor (1993), p. 164ff.
  4. ↑ a b c Il Ponte romano di San Lorenzo (PDF; 436 kB)
  5. ↑ Galliazzo (1994), pp. 203-212 (No. 433-436)
  6. ^ O'Connor (1993), p. 93

literature

  • Colin O'Connor: Roman Bridges , Cambridge University Press 1993, pp. 92, 171 ISBN 0-521-39326-4
  • Vittorio Galliazzo: I ponti romani. Catalogo generale , Vol. 2, Edizioni Canova, Treviso 1994, pp. 208-212 (No. 436) ISBN 88-85066-66-6

See also

Web links