Ponte dell'Ammiraglio

The Ponte dell'Ammiraglio is a medieval bridge in Palermo .

location

Originally, the bridge with twelve pointed oval arches of different heights spanned a branch of the Oreto river , which flows about 2 km south of the old town and flows into the Gulf of Palermo . Since the river was straightened in 1938 and this tributary was drained, the Ponte dell'Ammiraglio has been located about 100 m away from the river in a green area. The Corso dei Mille , which used to cross the river via the bridge, runs north past the bridge. Near the bridge is the Norman church of San Giovanni dei Lebbrosi .

history

The Oreto valley near Palermo with the Ponte dell'Ammiraglio (Bernhard Fries, around 1860)

Garibaldi's troops march across the Ponte dell'Ammiraglio (Giuseppe Nodari, 1860)

The bridge was built after 1132 in the Arab-Norman technique by George of Antioch , the Ammiratus or Admiral of King Roger II. Hence it got its name (Bridge of the Admiral). Despite their importance for the traffic connections, the construction of new fixed bridges was the exception in the Norman era , only the bridge over the Simeto between Bronte and Maniace can also be dated with certainty to the time of Rogers II. In some cases, Roman bridges could still be used, but in many cases rivers could only be crossed at fords. Even the Oreto had fords in various places at the beginning of the 20th century.

Maintenance has been the responsibility of the Senate of Palermo since the late Middle Ages: repairs due to flood damage are documented in 1436, 1672 and 1772; In 1751 the damage was caused by an earthquake. The road surface dates from the 19th century.

At the Ponte dell'Ammiraglio, the “ Train of a Thousand ”, led by Garibaldi , met the Bourbon troops on May 27, 1860. Garibaldi's “red shirts” forced the crossing over the bridge and the invasion of Palermo.

2015 Ponte dell'Ammiraglio of which was UNESCO as part of the World Heritage Site of Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale in the list of UNESCO World Heritage added.

literature

Giuseppe Bellafiore: Palermo. Guida della città e dei dintorni . Palermo 1995, p. 118 (with wrong date 1113)
Adriana Chirco: Guida di Palermo. Visita guidata della città e dei dintorni per itinerari storici . Palermo 1997, ISBN 88-7758-313-4 , p. 20 (between 1130 and 1140)
Cesare De Seta, M. Antonietta Spadaro, Sergio Troisi: Palermo città d'arte. Guida ai monumenti di Palermo e Monreale . Palermo 1998, p. 308, no.440 (after 1132)
Ferdinando Maurici, Melo Minnella: Antichi ponti di Sicilia (= Talismani, vol. 14). Palermo 2006, pp. 38f., 41, 66-68, 89, 94; Plate X, LVIII – LIX (around 1132)

Footnotes

^ Rudolf Lill : History of Italy from the 16th century to the beginnings of fascism. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1980, ISBN 3-534-06746-0 , p. 175.

Web links

Commons : Ponte dell'Ammiraglio (Palermo) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Entry on the page “PALERMO ARABO-NORMANNA E LE CATTEDRALI DI CEFALÙ E MONREALE” of the Fondazione Patrimonio UNESCO Sicilia .
Ponte dell'Ammiraglio at the Fondazione Federico Secondo .
Ponte dell'Ammiraglio on MuseoItalia .

38.105119444444 13.374997222222Coordinates: 38 ° 6 ′ 18.4 ″ N , 13 ° 22 ′ 30 ″ E

[1] Rudolf Lill : History of Italy from the 16th century to the beginnings of fascism. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1980, ISBN 3-534-06746-0 , p. 175.