Rocca Cerbaia -The Bridge

Photos and historical notices by Moreno Macii

At the feet of the relief crowned by the mighty Rocca Cerbaia on the river Bisenzio stands an old medieval Bridge simply called Cerbaia Bridge. The bridge has three arches, is constructed in sandstone, it's 5 arms wide (about m.2.30) like the road that lead to its. It's difficult to date it with precision, surely it had origin in the high Middle Ages, its structure and the materials with which it's constructed are common to many other building sited in the zone. Probably the bridge was there before the Rocca was raised. In the 10th-12th century the bridge of Cerbaia could be a timber structure or a ford, but it existed in the current aspect since the end of the the 13th century. An historical event is put in relation with the construction of the bridge: in the year 1314 the Florentine Republic signed an agreement with the Counts Alberti, owners of the Rocca, to made easier the road connection towards Bologna with the construction of a new passage on the Bisenzio river. The bridge was state totally restored in 1993.

The Bridge after the recent restoration: