Aosta · Italy
Roman Bridge
A perfectly preserved Roman bridge, and no river beneath it. The Buthier ran here, and the Romans threw across it a single-arch bridge of squared blocks, on the road leading east. The torrent then changed course, probably after a violent flood, and moved a few hundred metres away. The bridge remained where it stood, spanning air. People went on crossing it for centuries regardless, because it remained the road. It is among the most honest images this city has to offer: what men build remains, and water does as it pleases.
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When did the river move?
Not known precisely: most likely in late antiquity or the early Middle Ages, after flooding. Alpine torrents shift their beds easily.
Can you cross it?
Yes, and it feels odd: you cross a bridge for no practical reason, which makes it a monument rather than a piece of infrastructure.
Where is the Buthier now?
A little further east, where it joins the Dora Baltea. The old bed has been swallowed by the city.
Where it is
More stories in Aosta
- Adret and envers
- When the railway arrived
- Arch of Augustus
- Regional Archaeological Museum
- The villages the city swallowed
- The Battle of the Queens
- Aosta Cathedral
- Church of Santo Stefano