25. The Ponte della Torretta (bridge over the River Ticino)

This military bridge, built by the Duke of Milan, Lodovico il Moro, in 1487, had a rather short life. In 1515 it was destroyed by a natural catastrophe known locally as the “buzza di Biasca”. A lake, which had formed as the result of a landslide on Monte Crenone, broke its banks and the force of the swollen river was such that the magnificent bridge, a much admired feat of engineering at the time, was unable to resist the turbulence of the flood. In reality, according to a report dating from the era, there were probably only three piers and four arches. The destruction of the bridge, only 30 years after its construction, left the Locarno region and the right bank of the Ticino isolated and without access by land for three more centuries.

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