The Cervia Drawbridge spans the Porto Canale, a formerly industrial canal leading from the historic center of Cervia to the adjacent Adriatic Sea. As part of a new urban revitalization program the bridge replaces an existing fixed bridge to provide pleasure yachts passage from the sea to inner harbors. Historically the Porto Canale served Cervia’s primary industry, harvesting salt, as a route from inland salt beds to the town where the warehouses lay and beyond to the sea. Between the town center and the shore the canal also served the secondary industry of commercial fishing. The drawbridge, which lies between the old salt warehouse district and the fishermen’s quarter, both reflects these two cultures and expresses the dynamics of its own mechanical nature. Two tapered stone pylons rise from the masonry realm of the canal to accept a gracefully curved steel counterbalance “wing”. While the earthbound columns and abutting approaches are evocative of the nearby massive salt warehouses, the lofty wing is a metaphoric sail that recalls the fishing heritage and the mobile freedom of the sea. The construction of the bridge is part of an extensive phased urban renewal.

Michael Costantin acted as project architect on this work while at Studio Giancarlo De Carlo, Milan, Italy.