Viewpoint: Ponte della Maddalena

The Devil’s Bridge is one of Italy’s most beautiful, and most strange…

Bridge of Mary Magdalene near Borgo a Mozzano (Lucca), Italy

The Ponte della Maddalena, otherwise known as the Ponte del Diavolo, straddles the Serchio river at Borgo a Mozzano, in Lucca, Tuscany. No one knows for sure who built it, but the legend goes that it was St Julian, who required the help of the Devil to complete it. The price: the soul of the first living being to cross. Cleverly, Julian used a piece of bread to entice a dog to pay the fateful fee.

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