Bassano del Grappa bridge exhibition traces Palladio's legacy through disasters and reconstructions

A new exhibition at the Museo Civico in Bassano del Grappa explores the tumultuous history of the Ponte degli Alpini, a bridge originally designed by Andrea Palladio in 1567. The structure, a symbol of the town, has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times due to floods and wars, with the current version dating from 1948. The show dedicates significant space to the bridge's many transformations, highlighting how each reconstruction sparked heated debates among locals and intellectuals. Curators note that the bridge has always been 'always the same yet always different from the Palladian image.' The exhibition also features original Palladian drawings from his 'Quattro Libri,' which had a major impact on visual culture, and a section on 'palladianized' Venetian views by Canaletto, Bellotto, Piranesi, and Guardi, who incorporated Palladian buildings into their capricci. Architectural historian Guido Beltramini confirms that the bridge has always stirred passion in Bassano. The exhibition runs at the Museo Civico, with details on dates not specified in the source.