Tourist Attraction in Taranto:
Ponte di San Francesco di Paola

The bridge of St. Francis of Paola in Taranto is the structure that connects the island of the Borgo Antico with the peninsula of Borgo Nuovo. Opened on May 22, 1887 by Admiral Ferdinando Acton, the bridge overhangs a 400 meters long and 73-meter wide waterway that connects the Grande Mar to the Small Mar. Built by the Italian Industrial Construction Company (Castellammare di Stabia) by Alfredo Cottrau, Giuseppe Messina was originally made up of a large six-pointed arch in wood and metal, divided into two arms that independently turned each other around a vertical pivot placed on a spatula. Operation took place thanks to hydraulic turbines fueled by a large reservoir placed on the adjacent Aragonese Castle, capable of 600 cubic meters of water, and in the fall they operated the two arms of the bridge. The bridge currently measures 89.9 meters in length and 9.3 meters in width. The revolving deck is regularly subjected to accurate maintenance work, both of the mechanical and metal structures. Each semiponte, which is actually its structure, rotates around a central pivot anchored by a tirafondi at the concrete quay, moving over a rack by means of an always-engaged sprocket driven by an electric motor. It all rests on a rolling track consisting of a series of steel cylinders. The opening of the bridge is necessary to allow the passage of large military ships to the docks and docks of the Navy Arsenal located in the Mar Piccolo for maintenance work. The opening management, as well as the maintenance, are entrusted to the Navy. The opening and closing procedures of the bridge take a total of twenty minutes, the maneuvers are driven from inside the two cockpit located near each semiponte, while four workers control the proper functioning of the automatic devices, ready to intervene in Case of failure of the same. The revolving deck is the main symbol of the city of Taranto, and can be considered for its uniqueness a marvelous naval engineering work. In addition, the transit of ships with crew on the deck is a very impressive moment for family and friends who greet their loved ones from the waterfront. The bridge appears in some of the films, the oldest of which is certainly the White Ship, shot in Taranto in 1941. Gabriele d'Annunzio also cites the structure in a poem: Taranto, for solitude and moorings ensure in well-defended mirror, So much fresh purple roses? To what extent are San Cataldo and your oldest wall known to Byzantium and Aragon, which is Sweden and Anjou, tending your ear? No whale on the Great Sea nor thunder. But on your turn, your Bridge turns and iron your Canal rebranded. They pass the beautiful ships ready to enter the safe dock, I turn to the jonico horizon. Gabriele d'Annunzio - Laudi of the Sky of the Sea of the Earth and Heroes, book IV The revolving deck is also the destination of one of the frequent travels of Count Oddino of Oddi-Semproni and his two aunts,

Attractions in Taranto