The Jubilee bridge, the last ford for reconstruction, the junction between Imoborgo and Castelnuovo, has a notable historical significance: originally in wood, as hypothetically all the other Pontremoli bridges, it could be identified in that “pons tremulus” linked to the toponym of the village. In the Middle Ages it was rebuilt several times, in stone, following the damage caused by the innumerable floods of the river Magra. The bridge had a two span structure; after the ruinous flood of 1732 which also demolished the adjacent oratory of the Madonna del Ponte, it was revived with a single arch.

In 1839 a new flood damaged the bridge: a commission was convened to decide whether to rebuild a new bridge in the same position or simply restore it to build one in a different position. In 1842, following the large sums allocated by the Grand Duchy, it was decided to build a new bridge further north at a much higher level than the river bed. In 1847 the Ponte Nuovo will then be built on a project by Eng. Campani recognizable by its unique brick arch.

The bridge of Our Lady was restored but it was short-lived as a new flood episode in 1868 overwhelmed it; at this point it was decided to proceed with the demolition in favor of the construction of an iron footbridge; finally, after further transformations and the bombings of German troops during the Second World War, it will be rebuilt in reinforced concrete.

Following damage to the piers due to the floods of November 1982 and the frosts of the winter of 1985, the bridge underwent numerous traffic restrictions and temporary closures. These problems were put to an end with the demolition and construction in the year 2000 of the current bridge in reinforced concrete covered in stone which in appearance takes up one of the previous structures.

photos: arch. Elia Santini