Ponte dei Salti

There are bridges that cross a river, and then there are bridges that seem inseparable from the place around them. Ponte dei Salti has spanned the Verzasca at Lavertezzo since the 17th century, its two stone arches rising over water so clear that the river takes on an almost impossible emerald-turquoise color.

Often called the Roman Bridge, it isn’t actually Roman. The bridge was partially destroyed in 1868 and restored in 1960, preserving the distinctive double-arched form that has become one of the defining images of the Verzasca Valley. In fact, the valley itself calls it its most photographed location — it has even appeared on a Swiss postage stamp.

And these two photographs show exactly why. From one side, the arches frame the river and mountains almost perfectly; from the other, the bridge seems to rise directly out of the enormous rocks carved smooth by the Verzasca.

Four centuries of stone, mountains, and that extraordinary water — Ponte dei Salti looks less like something built here than something that belongs here.