COFANI, MARCO1

1) Ph.D. Arch., Politecnico di Milano, DAStU, marco.cofani@gmail.com

On 2 September 1757 the city of Verona was the scene of a massive flood that partially destroyed two of the four masonry bridges linking the two sides of the city. Both Ponte Pietra, built in Roman period, and Ponte Navi, built in 1328 but rebuilt in the XVth century, were damaged. Ponte Navi suffered the collapse of two of the four arches as well as the serious disruption of the tower between the second and the third arch.

The reconstruction works were immediately designed by a renowned team of architects, engineers and mathematicians, starting with a thorough analysis of existing structures and mechanical properties of the collapse.

The reports of the engineers are rich in technical details on the materials and building techniques adopted. The technical discussion, focused on two alternative proposals, shows very different constructive solutions proposed by technicians in an attempt to identify the best solution.

Keywords: Verona – historic bridges – mixed masonry