BRIDGE OF PARADOSSO

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION
It’s difficult to trace the origin of this bridge’s name. Some hypothesize that it came from “paratia” meaning bulkhead, or “parata” meaning to shield, because large wooden boards were set in place to divert the water from the moat and use it instead for watering the gardens or powering the wheel of the mill. This bridge, which lies over moat Mola, connects the neighborhood Pianoscarano with the district of San Pellegrino. Near the bridge was the meeting point and place of many skirmishes between the neighborhood and district. This was a place where legends were born, one of which is a famous ghost called “trucche trucche,” that occasionally appeared in the valley under the bridge itself. This is also where the “Funari” worked, those who made hemp ropes.  Across the bridge lies Via delle Piaggiarelle. Its name means, “little hills,” because a piaggia is between the highest and lowest points, meaning the downward slope. This climb will bring you back to the neighborhood of San Pellegrino.

BRIDGE OF PARADOSSO.
Translation by Isabella Lazzareschi, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, enrolled in the USAC Viterbo program.