Admiral's Bridge in Palermo
The Ponte dell'Ammiraglio , built during the reign of Roger II, is an important testimony of civil architecture of the Norman age and one of the greatest medieval engineering products in the Mediterranean area. It owes its name to its founder George of Antioch, admiral of the kingdom in the service of King Roger II since 1125 and founder of the church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio.
The bridge, which originally crossed the Oreto river, was erected outside from the walls of the Norman city. In 1938, due to the continuous overflows, the course of the river was definitively diverted leaving the bridge dry, in its place we find a garden.
The bridge was built entirely of freestone with regular limestone ashlars. It has a humpback configuration, with two symmetrical ramps supported by seven spans with pointed arches and recessed ferrules. The arches are marked by six massive pylons which in turn have pointed openings in order to reduce the thrust of the river in flood.
On the Ponte dell'Ammiraglio, on 27 May 1860, the Garibaldi troops < / b> coming from Gibilrossa clashed with the Bourbon armies, which had to prevent the access of the Thousand in the city. The battle went down in history as the famous " Battle of Ponte dell’Ammiraglio ".
