Ponte Madonna della Stella

This 18th-century bridge spans the Gravina ravine in a single dramatic arch, carrying both a road and an aqueduct channel above the gorge. It was built in 1754 to bring water from springs on the plateau into the town, and it remained in use as an aqueduct until the 20th century. The scale of the thing — built for purely practical reasons — is extraordinary, and the view from below, looking up at the arch against the sky, is one of the best compositions in the area.

The bridge can be viewed from the paths that descend into the ravine on either side. The best angle is from the bottom, which requires a 15-minute descent and return. A small chapel dedicated to the Madonna della Stella sits at the town end.

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A story
When the bridge was completed in 1754, it represented a solution to a problem Gravina had wrestled with for centuries: the town sat on a limestone plateau with no springs, and every drop of water had to be either collected from rain or carried up from the ravine below. The aqueduct changed daily life immediately — within a generation, the town's population began to grow again after decades of stagnation.

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