An old legend, full of charm and mystery, identified the architect of the Ponte Gobbo (hunch bridge) of Bobbio with the Devil.
The Ponte Gobbo History
It is said that Saint Colombano, after he moved to Bobbio and built the abbey, desired to cross the river to reach the other bank to find new inaccessible places to pray. He wasn’t able to built a bridge by himself, so according to the legend, he made a deal with the devil, who promised him to build the bridge in only one night, through the help of eleven little devils, as long as he could have the soul of the first passerby, who crossed the bridge the day after.
The eleven devil helpers were differently taller, so they built the arches of the bridge in various heights, because of it the bridge of Bobbio has a windy profile; the same one which characterises the bed of the river.
Colombano accepted the insane offer, but through a trick he managed to cheat the Devil: he let a dog cross the bridge.
As animals have no soul the Devil got angry and he kicked the bridge, making it more bumpy.
The bridge nowadays
The bridge got restored different times and today it’s in a good state of preservation.
It’s still possible to cross the bridge by walk and reach the opposite bank of the river. On the east bank it’s possible to walk down under the bridge, understanding better the different sizes of the arches.
