Ponte della Maddalena 

The Maddalena bridge joins the two banks of the Serchio river of the village of Borgo a Mozzano. Its construction dates back to the times of Countess Matilde of Canossa (1046-1115), who had great influence and power over this area the Garfagnana area, in Tuscany, but its current appearance is due to the reconstruction carried out by Castruccio Castracani (1281-1328), leader and lord of the nearby Lucca, in the early 1300s. 

The appearance of the bridge is the classic medieval ‘humpback’ one, with the difference that, here becomes a unique feature, its arches are asymmetrical and the central one is so high and wide that its solidity seems to defy the law of gravity. 

The bridge is commonly called ‘the Devil’s’ due to a popular legend of the area, reinforced by the disorganized appearance of the bridge itself: a master mason had started to build it but soon realized that he would have not been able to complete the work by day fixated and gripped by fear of the possible consequences, he turned to the Evil One asking for help in order to finish the job. The Devil agreed to complete the bridge in one night in exchange for the soul of the first passerby who crossed it. The pact was signed but the builder, full of remorse, confessed to a religious man of the area who advised him to let a pig (or, in other versions, a dog) cross the bridge first. The Devil was thus mocked and disappeared into the waters of the river by throwing himself from highest arch. Some people say that, even now sometimes, during autumn nights, you can still see a white dog on the bridge. Others say that, if you observe carefully into the water from the highest arch, you can still see the hole the Devil left when he launched himself. 

1 hour by car