The 5 most beautiful bridges in Tuscany: diving back in time

Walking along Via Matildica del Volto Santo, you will come across one of the most fascinating and mysterious places in Tuscany: Ponte della Maddalena, better known as Ponte del Diavolo (Devil’s Bridge), in Borgo a Mozzano. With its striking, asymmetrical arches, it marks the entrance to Garfagnana and joins two banks of the Serchio River. It was constructed around the year 1000 and, according to legend, it was built with the help of Satan, who, in return for his work, demanded the soul of the first living being to walk across it. However, the villagers were smarter than him and pushed a dog (or a goat) across the bridge. According to tradition, animals do not have souls and therefore the devil, in all his fury, was unable to obtain the booty he desired.

Ponte della Pia is also linked to a legend and is a picturesque stone structure that crosses a lush forest in the Montagnola Senese area. With its archway, it crosses the Rosia Torrent between the municipalities of Sovicille and Chiusdino, along the road leading from Siena to Massa Marittima. Pia de' Tolomei, a noblewoman from Siena, who was also mentioned by Dante, passed here on her way to marry the man who was later to kill her, as narrated in the Divine Comedy: "Siena mi fè, disfecemi Maremma.” (Siena made me, Maremma destroyed me). On this very bridge, according to tradition, the ghost of Pia, dressed in white, can be seen as she appears on the darkest of nights.

In the picturesque landscape of the Pistoia Mountains, there is a 227-meter-long bridge connecting two sides of the Lima Torrent. It is the Ponte Sospeso delle Ferriere a suspension bridge in San Marcello Piteglio, a pedestrian walkway overlooking the void and reaching almost 40 meters in height. Built in just two years by Vincenzo Douglas Scotti, it holds the record for the longest suspension footbridge in Italy and, until 2006, it was even the longest in the world, later surpassed by a structure built in Japan. Walking along it is an unforgettable experience, especially for adventure lovers.

Along the Via Francigena, not far from Pontremoli, is the beautiful Romanesque bridge of Groppodalosio, dating back to 1574 and surrounded by the chestnut groves of the "Valle Oscura” (Dark Valley). The bridge, with its 16-meter arch, allows people to cross the Magra River and connects Groppodalosio to Casalina. To reach it, there is a signposted path from Casalina, which takes about 5 minutes on foot.

We close our roundup of bridges with Ponte Vecchio, the king of bridges in Tuscany, well-known and loved all over the world, so much so that it was the only one in Florence not to be destroyed by the Germans during the Second World War. This place is a must for a romantic stroll and perhaps a stop at one of the many goldsmiths’ shops that characterize the bridge. Ponte Vecchio crosses the Arno River and, above it, is the Corridoio Vasariano, a secret passageway created by the Medici family and built to join Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti.