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  • Ponte di Zinola o Ponte dei Saraceni
  • Zinola
  • Zinola
  • Italy
  • Liguria
  • Province of Savona
  • Savona

Credits

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  • AIAC_logo logo

Monuments

Periods

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Chronology

  • 1434 AD - 1800 AD

Season

    • The project to put in order the delta of the torrent Quiliano was set up by the local administration in the territory of Savona for reasons of public safety. The project included the partial demolition and reconstruction of the access ramp, in the direction of Vado del Ponte called the Ponte dei Saraceni. The bridge has a single arch, built in stone with brick arched lintels and extrados, with a span of 30m. According to tradition it was built upon Roman remains in 1434 by Francesco M. Sforza as attested by a lost inscription. Until at least the end of the 18th century the structure had an important role as a boundary marker, as can be seen from maps and numerous notorial acts which also attest its frequent restoration. Attendance during the partial demolition of the structure permitted a photo-geometric survey of both sides of the bridge which revealed the overlapping of at least two distinct phases. The earliest phase belongs to a bridge with several arches. Also relating to this phase are the walls along the ramp which had a narrow bench along the interior identifiable as a surface on which to rest goods carried on the shoulders or by pack animal and a cobblestone pavement made up of areas of rounded cobbles bordered by larger stones. The pavement showed no sign of wear but sagged noticeably in the middle. The 15th century bridge was built on this structure, the ramp walls being built onto the earlier ones and linked by cross walls to form concamerations filled with dumps of fluvial material containing pre-16th century ceramics. Trenches dug at the base of the bridge to a depth of 1.50m ascertained that a marshy environment existed before the first stone bridge was built, whilst they excluded, at least in the area investigated, the presence of what had been thought to be Roman pavement when seen between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. (Francesca Bulgarelli, Eleonora Torre)

Bibliography

    • O. Mattarini, 2001, Il ponte di Zinola, in Rivista Ingauna e Intemelia LII, LIII (1997-1998): 81-90.
    • F. Bulgarelli, E. Torre, 2002, (SV) Vado Ligure, ponte di Zinola o dei Saraceni. 2000- 2001, in Archeologia Medievale XXIX, 2002, Notizie e lavori sul campo: 386-387.
    • F. Bulgarelli, Da Cogoleto a Vado Ligure, in P. Melli, F. Bulgarelli, Per una ricostruzione dei tracciati viari antichi tra Genova e Vado, in Insediamenti e territorio. Viabilità in Liguria tra I e VII secolo d.C., Atti del Convegno, Bordighera 30 novembre- 1 dicembre 2000, Bordighera: 245- 247.