BRI
59
BRI
v >nee it was to erect bridges, appoint ferries, and entertain tra-vellers in hospitals built on the banks of rivers.
Of the bridges of antiquity, that built by Trajan across theanube, near the town of Warhel, in Hungary , is allowede have been the most magnificent. It was destroyed byAdrian, but some of the piers may still be seen.
I he remains of a bridge, bearing as strong marks of ruinedj&agnificence as any of antiquity, are to be met with at theottom of a hill, on which the town of Narni is seated, one road between Loretto and Rome . This bridge was builty Augustus , to join two mountains, between which flows the*T er Nera, and to enable the inhabitants of Narni to pass onievel from one mountain to the other. It was of an extra-ordinary height, and its whole length, 850 palms (637-J feet),consisted of four large unequal arches.
next considerable Roman work of this kind is the°nt du Garde, about three leagues from Nismes; whichrves the double purpose of a bridge over the Gardon, andrj, a< l Ue d uc t for supplying the people of Nismes with water,le 6 which consists of six arches, is about 465 feet in
o. > and supports a second series of 11 arches, which aretinued beyond the extremities of the bridge, and form aab aCtl< ? with the slope of the mountains on either side; it isCm T ‘ 8 ® feet long. Over these is a third series of 35 arches,in» smaPer than those below, 850 feet in length, support-the a Cana ^ on a level with the two mountains, along whichYjj. Water is conveyed to Nismes by a continued aqueduct,held extraordinai 7 edifice is built with very large stones,hei , to .£ e ther by iron cramps without cement. The wholeget is ] 90 f ee t above the lower river.
®cd l? brid S e oP ^t. Esprit , near Lyons, is of Roman origin,anc - as ^ on g been deemed one of the finest and boldest of the800 ' ent bridges of France . Its whole length is upwards ofiu a i ^ ards ; it is very crooked, bends in several places, andthe r -S man y un equal angles, particularly in those parts where15 t * 9 ^ has the strongest current. The arches run fj-omc ocsi • ^ at homs in width. The feet or bottoms of the piersjutyn ’ m tbe * r lower parts, of several courses of footingstals ° hhe steps; and are each protected by two pedes-sr na'l/ )r °^ eCt ' n ° f rom them. Between the large arches are°f r apertures, like windows, reaching nearly to the tops°onstr p6destals ’ about the middle of tha pier. This mode ofthe mjTf 10n was ado pted with a view to break graduallyjutting ^ Poree °f the Rhone: the several courses of steps,Portin ' 3 ° Ut f rom the piers, oppose and break the stream byUp 0n , 3 ’ an d prevent it from operating with its whole forcetn e labric at once; and when the flood rises so high as
to
cover
the steps and pedestals, the small arches, or windows,
choked';?, Tv ter t0 P ass freely, which otherwise would have
by thei
m the
upper part of the great arches, and endangered
rueir being forced up. . . , ,
fhe city of Yalenza de Alcantara, in Spain , is celebrated* or ds ancient bridge over the Tajo, or Tagus , about 25 milesfrom Madrid, built in the time of the Emperor Trajan ; and,as appears from an inscription over one of its arches, by thePeople of Lusitania, who were assessed to defray the expense,is 200 feet above the water, and though consisting o on y
®ix arches, 1 = -
- <ucnes, is 670 feet in length, and 28 ’ n b * ea n th
enhance of the bridge is a small chapel du„the paganr ’ ~
tian
chapel i
At thethe rock by
N,
s obtained
ear the old town of Brioude , in the Lower Auvergne, ordepartment of the Upper Loire, is a stupendous stone bridge,atTm arch > the largest with which we are acquainted. It isof T b ' d T ,i t0 the Romans, and stretches over the whole sti earn^ the Alher. The extremities of the arch rest on a natural
possession, they consecrated it to St. Julian.
fock '7. lep -Which
occasions the spring on one side to be lower than
on the other; it is formed of squared stones in two ranks;the rest of the fabric is of rubble-work. The span of thearch is 181 feet; its greatest height, from the level of thewater to its intrados, 68 feet eight inches; and the breadthof the bridge, 13 feet.
The bridge of Avignon was begun in the year 1176, andfinished in 1188, probably under the direction of St. Benezetand the fraternity of hospitallers, over whom he presided; itconsisted of 18 arches, and was about 1,000 yards in length.The road-way was so narrow, that two carriages could notpass each other in any part; this had caused it to be desertedby all but foot-passengers long before its destruction, whichhappened in 1699, by one of those violent inundations com-mon to the Rhone. Many of the ruinous-decayed arches stillremain.
The city of Venice has nearly 500 handsome bridges ofone arch, and various sizes, over the canals, &c.; most of themare of white stone, similar to that with which the streets arepaved, without any balusters or fence on either side. Of thesethe principal is the Rialto, esteemed, when erected, a master-piece of art. It was begun in 1588, and finished in 1591,after a design of Michael Angelo, and consists of one boldflat arch, nearly 100 feet wide, and only 23 in height fromthe level of the water. Its breadth, -which is 43 feet, isdivided into three narrow streets, by two rows of shops : themiddle street is the widest, and in the centre there is anarched aperture, by which the three streets communicatewith each other. At each end of the bridge is an ascent of56 steps, and the prospect from its summit is both lively andmagnificent. The foundation extends 90 feet, and rests upon12,000 elm piles: the whole exterior of the bridge, as wellas of the shops, is of marble. The building cost the Republic 250,000 ducats.
The most stupendous and magnificent work ever executedin the department we are now speaking of, is the aqueductbridge of Alcantara, near the city of Lisbon . It was begunin the reign of John V. king of Portugal , in the year 1713,and was finished on the sixth of August, 1732, under thesuperintendence of Brigadier Mansel de Maya. The aque-duct commences at a spring near Ribeira de Caranque, aboutthree leagues and a half from Lisbon , to which city thewater is conveyed for the supply of the inhabitants. Theaqueduct passes subterraneously through the hills, receivingin its course the waters of several springs, and stretchesacross many valleys on the tops of magnificent ranges ofarches, of which, that crossing the vale of Alcantara is theprincipal. When the water emerges from its subterraneouspassage, it is received in two channels on the tops of thesearches, each about 12 inches deep ; it generally flows atabout the depth of seven inches, yielding an abundant supplyfor the city and its environs. The interior height of thisbuilding is 13 feet, and between the streams is a paved walkor foot-path. The subterraneous passages are continued ofthe same height and width throughout the whole extentof the works, and are lighted and ventilated by openings tothe surface of the hills through which they pass. Over eachof these openings are turrets or square towers, with stronglatticed windows, to prevent mischievous persons fromthrowing stones, &c. into the aqueduct. These turrets are16 in number, each 16 feet square, and rising 23 feet sixinches above the roof of the aqueduct; the number of win-dows is 79, each three feet seven inches long, by 13 incheswide, railed with iron and latticed with bars. Beneath everysecond turret is an arched doorway into the aqueduct. Thewater-channel under the grand arch is about 24 feet in width,and seven feet in depth ; but this channel is dry, except invery rainy seasons. There is, indeed, a small stream con-