Ponte di Cecco

Ponte di Cecco is the oldest bridge in the town of Ascoli Piceno in Central Italy. It passes over the Castellano river connecting the Malatesta Fortress to the rest of the city.

For centuries thought to be a Medieval structure, the original bridge was actually constructed during the age of the Roman Republic more than 2,000 years ago, forming part of the ancient Via Salaria. The structure is said to have been renovated in 1349 by an architect known as Cecco Aprutino. It’s believed where the bridge got its namesake. But there is another theory about the name of this bridge.

According to a local legend, the name comes from Cecco d’Ascoli, a medieval poet and astrologer who lived in the town between the late 13th and early 14th centuries. As the story goes, he built the bridge overnight with help from the devil.

The current structure is not the original, as the old bridge was destroyed in 1944 by the retreating German army and was reconstructed during the 1960s.