Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The bridge of Ponte Nuovo, located in Castello-di-Rostino in the Haute-Corse, is a donkeyback work built in the seventeenth century. Attributed to the Genoese, it consists of five arches, the centre of which is the largest. The parapets rest on arches supported by crows, while the abutments in the shape of a spur, upstream and downstream, are surmounted by circular glacis. The construction combines honeymoons for most of the structure and cut stone for arches, bandels and crows.

The bridge is best known for having been the scene of the Battle of Ponte-Novo on May 9, 1769, marking the end of Corsican independence against French troops. Damaged during the Second World War by retired German troops, it was restored in 2008, including the development of an adjacent esplanade, A Piazza di i Naziunali. Ranked a historic monument since 1928, it remains a strong symbol of Corsican history, owned by the state.

Castello-di-Rostino, where the bridge stands, was once a fief of the Marquis of Massa, medieval lords who dominated the area before their decline in the 14th century. The commune, which emerged from the merger in 1857 between Pastoreccia and Frasso, is part of the former stake of Rostino, a strategic area of the Golo valley. The bridge, a road and railway node (the Ponte-Novu station), now connects the surrounding villages and embodies both an architectural heritage and a place of collective memory.

The region, marked by Mediterranean vegetation and chestnut trees, experienced a dense human occupation from the 16th century, with hamlets like Pastoreccia, Baranciasche or Poggiola. The bridge, restored and enhanced, now attracts visitors and locals, stressing its historical and tourist importance in the western Castagniccia.

External links