Ancient metrology in architecture: a new approach in the study of the Roman bridge of Canosa di Puglia (Italy)

Abstract

The bridge of Canosa di Puglia (Italy) was originally built in the 2nd century CE to cross the Ofanto river along the Via Traiana, the route built at the behest of Emperor Trajan that connected Rome with the port of Brindisi, on the Adriatic Sea. Restorations, collapses and architectural transformations have deeply altered its original structure over the centuries, making it lose the traces of a monumental central arch. Archival and field research, conducted through various surveys, has produced new data that has provided an update of the bridge's history. The aim of this dissertation is to show the results of a research conducted with a new methodological approach to the monument, applying ancient metrology to the interpretation of its architectural evolution. This method has proven to be indispensable to formulate hypotheses about the original configuration of the bridge, whose central arch would result to be one of the widest among the bridges of the Roman architecture.