Crossing the Cartignano stone bridge is like crossing history.

It is a remarkable historical monument from the Napoleonic period and still connects the village of Cartignano basso with the hamlet of Paschero.

The peculiarity of this bridge is the votive chapel located in its middle, a unique example in the valley and surrounding areas. Dedicated to St Mark, it was the destination of a procession held every year on the saint’s day, 25 April.

Biblical scenes are frescoed in the chapel: the universal flood, the Pieta and the Deposition. The chapel was erected around 1835 as an ex-voto by the inhabitants of Cartignano following a miracle linked to a river flood.

A curiosity: it is a historical fact that penalties for blasphemers were established from the bridge. According to municipal regulations, those who blasphemed were subject to a very severe fine, which could be commuted by being plunged from the bridge into the stream. What would you have chosen?

• Via Paschero, 55 (Cartignano)

• How to visit the site

  Can only be visited externally