The bridge links the area of
Lungotevere delle Armi to Piazzale delle Belle Arti. The works for the building began in 1909 and were completed two years later. The bridge was designed and built by Giovanni Antonio Porcheddu, with the cooperation of the engineers Giaj and Parvopassu, on the occasion of the
exhibition for celebrating the 50th
anniversary of Italian unification. It is the first bridge in Rome made in
reinforced concrete, since its creator, at that time, was the only Italian dealer of the patent of the Belgian
François Hennebique. The day of the inauguration (April 17, 1911), the spectators doubted that the structure, after the removal of the supporting scaffoldings, wouldn't have stood up; on the contrary, Porcheddu was so sure about the effectiveness and reliability of the new technique that he wanted to attend the demolition of the scaffolding on a little boat just below the arch of the bridge, together with his two youngest kids, Giuseppe and Ambrogia. During the ceremony, King
Victor Emmanuel III offered Porcheddu the epithet "King of reinforced concrete". == Notes ==