“Ponte di ferro” they called it. That’s Italian for iron bridge. We are standing before the remnants of the Vecchio ponte ferroviario sul Ticino. It once spanned the Ticino River.
The Vecchio ponte ferroviario sul Ticino has a tale of triumph and tragedy. It connects Galliate and Turbigo on the Novara-Seregno line. Imagine the first train crossing in 1887. People marveled at this modern marvel.
Milanese engineer Paolo Tatti designed the first Vecchio ponte ferroviario sul Ticino in 1880. The Guazzoni company constructed it. It finished in 1886. The bridge stretched 150 meters long and 5.50 meters wide. Its three metal lattice spans supported trains above. A roadway existed below.
Then came the dark days of World War II. August 1944 brought destruction. Bombardments weakened the Vecchio ponte ferroviario sul Ticino. It collapsed. An ironic pamphlet from November 1952 tells the story. It was titled “Il Gallo”. It was written for the new bridge’s inauguration. The pamphlet recounts the old iron bridge’s demise. It endured seventeen carpet bombings. It withstood several attempts to demolish it with German explosives.
The pamphlet says the old bridge couldn’t take it anymore. One bad day it slid into the water. It seemed almost like suicide. Poor bridge.
The history of Vecchio ponte ferroviario sul Ticino is unfortunate. Bureaucratic hurdles delayed reconstruction. Finally, the Bossi Company received the contract. They had submitted their design after the war.
Construction crawled for eight long years. Finally, in 1953 the new bridge was complete. The Novara-Saronno line reopened. The new Vecchio ponte ferroviario sul Ticino was similar to its predecessor.
The Vecchio ponte ferroviario sul Ticino stands as a testament to resilience. It represents rebirth after destruction. The current structure echoes the past. Yet it also embraces the future. It is a reminder of the past. It also shows human determination.