San Francesco Bridge

The bridge, designed by the Roman architect Orazio Torriani, was begun in 1627 and completed in 1666 with the intervention of the architect Bonaventura Certò from Messina.

With its five arches, only one of which is open and passable, it is the second intervention in chronological order related to the urban reorganisation of Caltagirone in the first half of the 17th century.

It is still considered one of the rarest examples of “inhabited bridges” in Europe.

Its construction contributed to bridging a difference in height of 15 meters and a distance of over 50 metres, which divide the level of the public squares from the hill of San Francesco.