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Origin and history

The Pianella Bridge is a 15th-century Genoese building located on the Porto River, at the exit of the Spelunca gorges, between the villages of Ota and D-Evisa in South Corsica. This unique arch and donkey-backed bridge, typical of Genoese civil architecture, has never been redesigned and retains its original state. It has been listed as a Historic Monument since November 29, 1976, due to its exceptional heritage value.

At its entrance, an edicle once housed a statuette of a patron saint, probably Saint Roch or Saint Anthony Abbé, looking after the men and herds using this work. The bridge, built of cut stone, has an arch in the middle of 15.30 metres. Its construction, initiated in 1715 by the communities of Evisa and Ota, was entrusted to the brothers Bernardo and Paolo Pardini, master masons lucquois, for an amount of 4 000 lire. However, disputes interrupted the work, the completion date of which remains unknown.

The bridge of Pianella is part of a remarkable natural landscape, dominated by the Spelunca gorges and the Capu rock of Ota. It is part of a historic mule trail, the Tra Mare e Monti, linking Calenzana to Cargesis, and bears witness to the genoese engineering adapted to Corsican geographical constraints. Its apron on the back of a donkey, paved or covered with pebbles, and its long stone parapets illustrate a technical mastery combining functionality and aesthetics.

This bridge, like that of Zaglia located upstream, facilitated the movements of the transhumant shepherds and the inhabitants, in an area where the Spelunca gorges constituted a strategic passage between the ancient pièves of Sevidintro and Sevinfuori. Today, there remains an emblematic example of Corsican heritage, integrated into a popular cultural and natural route for hikers.

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