ponte flaminio

the white bridge

The Flaminio bridge stretches over the Tiber River, connecting the city's northern residential Parioli district to the Vigna Clara and Collina Fleming neighborhoods by way of the Corso Francia and the Via Flaminia. Ponte Flaminio was designed in 1932 by architect Armando Brasini, and construction began in 1939. Work on the 255 meter-long bridge (836 ft) was suspended during WWII, resumed in 1947 and concluded in 1951. 

Some regard this bridge as a gaudy Fascist monstrosity. I personally quite fancy it. This bridge reminds me of my school days, when I used to cross it every day to go and come back from school on the old school bus 10. The sight of this bridge is dotted with landmarks, but I'm not talking of the eagles and faux column stumps, not the tall lantern-like beacons nor the travertine fountains. When I cross this bridge, I catch a glimpse of me as a child. I can recall the general panache and energy of my early youth, the melancholy and indolence of teen age, my first romantic enthusiasms, and the budding stages of my love for art, poetry and beauty.

It may not be a stunner like Rome's other bridges, but for me il ponte bianco is a bridge between juvenescence and adulthood.

Happy Mother's Day!

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