The role of history in the structural assessment of a multi-span masonry arch bridge

The long history of an important multi-span masonry arch bridge built in 1336 in Lecco, Italy, across the Adda River and still in use today is presented here. The study was one of the preliminary stages of an extensive structural investigation project that led to prescriptions on the current use and management of this bridge. The objective is to describe the historical- constructive evolution of the Azzone Visconti Bridge, named after its creator and Lord of Milan; because of its complex and long history, the bridge appears today as the structural assemblage of several substructures. The intent is to present a comparison of different structural modeling approaches, already adopted in the safety assessment of the bridge. Finally, the possibility of implementing the valuable information recovered from the historical study (e.g., existing material heterogeneities, cracking patterns, and past interventions) into alternative analytical models is discussed.