Ponterotto

Ponterotto (Broken Bridge), also known as "Appiano Bridge", is a place of historical interest in the town of Venticano.

Located in an area halfway between the provinces of Avellino and Benevento, it is an ancient structure dating back to the Trajan era. It was built to reach Puglia, the landing point for the famous conquests in the East. Not only the scene of the battles of ancient Rome, Ponterotto is also a site immersed in the green Irpinia and shrouded in mystery, steeped in legends and intriguing tales. For some it is the "Devil's Bridge", because it is said you can see an eye and a hand belonging to an evil being on one arch; for others, it becomes a metaphor for a place where you can find refuge from illusions, or a nocturnal scene where you might encounter the "Thousand-year old Snake", which is said to hide among the rocks and brambles by the river and which embodies, in fact, illusion and the human need to soften reality. 

Ponterotto has immeasurable historical and representative value, and not only for Venticano: it stands between the municipalities of Bonito, Mirabella Eclano, Apice, Calvi, and San Giorgio del Sannio and represents evidence of a glorious past for all the aforementioned communities. Today, only the ruins of the formerly imposing architectural structure bathed by the Calore river can be seen at this site of historical interest: the arch remains intact and clearly visible, flanked by seven corroded pillars, three in the water and four on land, which have nonetheless withstood the ravages of time. Next to one of them, a Latin epigraph was found, attributable to the Samnite culture and connected to the people of San Mercurio. 

This is a place where history and myth intertwine, giving Ponterotto a unique and evocative charm to this day.