Ponte Coperto

The covered medieval bridge over the Ticino, rebuilt after wartime bombing

The Ponte Coperto is Pavia's most photographed sight: a covered stone bridge spanning the Ticino, with a small chapel in the centre and the Romanesque church of Santa Maria in Betlem visible at the far bank. The views from the bridge — upstream to the Apennines on a clear day, downstream to where the Ticino meets the Po — are among the best in the city.

The surrounding area along the riverbank, called the Borgo Ticino, retains some of the character of the old fishing neighborhood: a few trattorias, a lively Saturday market, and the kind of informal life that the university centre has mostly lost. Cross the bridge and walk the south bank for 20 minutes to find a different, quieter Pavia.

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The original covered bridge at this location was built in 1351 and stood for nearly 600 years before being destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944. The current bridge was rebuilt immediately after the war using the salvaged stone of the old one, following the original design as closely as possible. The chapel in the middle of the bridge — a Pavia peculiarity — was also reconstructed.

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