Colombaiotto Bridge

Description

The road system in the Middle Ages was extremely long and slow. But despite the difficulties, the men and women of that time, whether they moved on foot or on horseback, were in perpetual motion. There were many routes, but they often converged at fixed pilgrimage sites, markets, as well as fords, passes and bridges. The Colombaiotto Bridge, the remains of which came to light during excavations for the Bilancino reservoir in 1995 near the Medici villa at Cafaggiolo, was just one of these. The building was located on the ancient road that connected Florence and Bologna. But what is absolutely singular is that there is no record in any writings by scholars or travelers of the time of crossings of the Sieve on that very stretch. Yet, from what remains have been found, the bridge appeared to be 75 meters long and supported by six arches. A bridge, therefore, of modest width. Moreover, radiocarbon analysis of the preserved wooden piling allowed it to be dated between the 11th and 12th centuries. The silence of the written sources remains, therefore, a mystery....