Ponte Pietra in Verona
Ponte Pietra in Verona

It was towards the end of the day and also the end of my visit to the city of Verona. I was making my way to Castel San Peitro which is a hill just across the old city of Verona. There is a little elevation there and maybe I could get nice overhead views of the city of Verona. To get there, one would need to cross the River Adige which runs right through Verona. There is a bridge which allows visitors to cross the rather wide river. I was surprised to know that this bridge is one of the oldest monuments here in the city of Verona.

River Adige in Verona
River Adige in Verona

The bridge is surprisingly old, having been built in the first century. I was having difficulty imagining how the Romans would have been able to build a bridge that can span this river but I think they have shown that they are capable of much more impressive feats. Parts of the bridge have been rebuilt over the centuries, with the latest repair job after the second world war because the retreating Germans destroyed it. The bridge is a typical Roman bridge that would be common throughout the empire. I think what is most impressive is it’s sheer age. I didn’t think that such a structure would survive all the way to the modern age. What’s more, a bridge is much more subject to the elements compared to a gate or an amphitheater would. To think that thousands of people continue to cross the river using this very same bridge as the Romans did two thousand years ago.

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