The Italian Bridge is the bridge across the Griboedov Canal

Griboedov Canal

Griboyedov Canal or Kanal Griboyedova is a canal in Saint Petersburg, constructed in 1739 on the basis of the existing river Krivusha. In 1764–1790, the canal was deepened, and the banks were reinforced and covered with granite....

 in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It is a single span, steel, pedestrian bridge next to Italian street (hence the name). The bridge's length is 19.66 meters, the width is 3 meters.

History

The bridge was built in 1896 in the place of a boat ferry as a single span wooden bridge which connected Big and Little Italian streets. The engineer L.N. Kolpitsin was author of the project. The novelty at the time was use of xilolit

Sorel cement

Sorel cement is a non-hydraulic cement first produced by Frenchman Stanislas Sorel in 1867.The cement is a mixture of magnesium oxide with magnesium chloride with the approximate chemical formula Mg4Cl268, corresponding to a weight ratio of 2.5–3.5 parts MgO to one part MgCl2...

 plates as a paving material. In 1902 the bridge was rebuilt for the first time, and around 1911-1912 it was rebuilt again.
After quarter of century, in 1937 the bridge went through the capital reconstruction, in order to fit two termal pipes into it. In 1955 during the renovation of Griboedov Canal embankments the bridge was completely rebuilt again. Since then it has its modern look.