Italy has just added a new work by Santiago Calatrava: the Cosenza cable-stayed bridge in the eponymous city, located 300 kilometers south of Naples. The project was conceived to integrate two urban areas currently separated by the Crati River: Contrada Gergeri and Via Reggio Calabria.
Built with the signature materials of Calatrava's career—steel, concrete, and natural stone—the single-pylon cable-stayed bridge features a 140-meter-long steel deck, a width of 24 meters, and a maximum height of 82 meters, serving both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Its form recalls the world's first bridge with an inclined pylon: the Alamillo Bridge in Seville, Spain, also designed by Calatrava.
In addition to crossing the Crati River, on one side the bridge spans two railway tracks. According to the firm, the project accommodates a potential future expansion "with a shelter covered by a steel and glass pergola, providing access from one end of the bridge to both sides of the tracks."
Regarding the project, the firm explains:
One of the bridge's most characteristic elements, and the most visible from much of the city, is the inclined pylon that supports the deck. Its slender steel box has a square shape with rounded corners that leans backward to express the full tension of the cables and visually direct toward the urban center of Cosenza. Furthermore, as a whole, the cables supporting the deck and the overall form evoke the image of a giant harp.
The Cosenza bridge is part of an ambitious urban regeneration scheme that seeks to revitalize different areas of the city. The municipality currently ranks eleventh in urban ecosystem quality out of 104 Italian cities, according to Italy's leading environmental association, a prominent member of both the European Environmental Bureau and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In the words of the mayor of Cosenza, Mario Occhiuto, the new bridge “is not merely a functional structure, but an architectural work that, along with other initiatives we are carrying out, will turn Cosenza into one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, attracting thousands of new visitors.”
Santiago Calatrava expressed his pride that the bridge contributes “to linking two areas of the city that, until now, remained disconnected beyond just physical distance. I am honored that the authorities of Cosenza trusted me to develop this project as part of their ambitious urban revitalization plan.”
Since its opening, residents and tourists have been sharing their impressions of the project on social media platforms like Instagram.
Information via Santiago Calatrava Architects & Engineers.
This article was written by Nicolás Valencia. The translation is powered by AI.
