Things to do in Province of Taranto, Puglia: The Best Bridges

Reviewed By VadimM67 - Murmansk, Russia

The closed Bay of Taranto has been an ideal naval base since the time of Tarentum, with its anchorage protected from the sea. Only the Royal Navy was able to get the Italian fleet here in 1940, and then only with the help of deck bombers and Swordfish torpedo bombers. However, the ideal anchorage gives rise to another problem - how to get to it from the sea without breaking the message. The bridge becomes an obstacle. Officially, the bridge is called San Francesco di Paola, but everyone calls it the Ponte Girevole-swing bridge. The bridge was opened in 1887, when the displacement of new all-metal ships did not allow passage under the bridge. Opening the bridge is necessary for large warships to go to the docks and Arsenal of the Navy located in the Small sea for repairs. The two sections of the bridge did not rise, as for example in Saint Petersburg, but were separated to the sides. They were powered by hydraulic turbines operated from the Aragonese castle. Hydraulics were replaced in the post-war 50s by electric motors. Unfortunately, I didn't see this miracle of Italian engineering in action. It is not every day that Italian destroyers and cruisers pass through the 400-meter channel...