Becca Bridge

A bridge is often much more than just a simple infrastructure. It is an element that identifies a territory, a kind of obligatory passage linked to local, personal, and historical events that are important for the people who share it. A bridge, in fact, is often "shared" because its arches connect or separate, create and, at the same time, break down boundaries, bringing people closer or keeping them apart depending on political situations and historical periods.

Bridges are exceptional elements within the infrastructure system because, by their nature, they connect two different fronts and inevitably affect the landscape. In some cases, they themselves are the landscape. Bridges are the identity of the place and the landscape.

The Becca Bridge, a steel truss structure 1,040 meters long and divided into 13 spans, was built between 1910 and 1912 at the confluence of the Ticino and Po rivers. Partially destroyed by bombing during World War II in 1944, it was restored in the damaged areas and reopened to traffic in 1950.

The issue of building a new bridge to allow the crossing of the Po at a strategic point for freight traffic was debated for a long time starting in 1893, initiated by the Promoting Committee for the construction of a permanent iron bridge over the Po, which particularly relied on the consultancy of Engineer Rothlisberger, head of the Technical Office of the National Company of Savigliano.

The original project proposed an overall length of 1,018.50 meters (including the access road) and a width of 6 meters. The steel structure was to weigh 7,660 kg per linear meter of the bridge, with the planned height of the beams being 7 meters, which is one-tenth of the length of a span (70 meters). During the debate, the proposals for the locations of Casei Gerola and Mezzana Corti were dismissed. Mezzanino was identified as the ideal location, as there was information about the existence of a boat bridge (1865). The bridge was built in 1912, as noted by an inscription with a coat of arms on the access arch, which reads: "for the united efforts of Municipalities and Province, Nathan Uboldi Constructors 1912. It is known that in this same location, after 1865, there was a boat bridge."

The Nautical Center "Amici del Po," located on the Pavia side of the bridge, offers various services, including the possibility of taking tours along the Po River.