On the old course of the Via Flaminia, where the Bosso torrent once ran, its main channel now shifted hundreds of metres south, stands the Roman bridge called Ponte Manlio. It is a well-preserved example of a vaulted arch bridge, dating from the second century B.C., when Roman engineering was perfecting the curved arch to span waterways with enduring strength. The single, high arch rises cleanly from the rocky bed, its stonework weathered but intact, a quiet monument to the road-builders who pushed the Republic’s reach across Italy. Today, the bridge spans nothing but dry ground and scrub; the torrent has abandoned it, leaving this sturdy relic stranded in a landscape that has rearranged itself around it. A curious, lonely survival, a Roman arch with no water beneath it, still holding its shape long after its purpose has flowed elsewhere.
Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.
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