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Ponte Ferroviario sulla Fiumara Brace

The birth of the Ponte della Brace dates back to the end of the 19th century when the layout of the railway line had to be decided. In those years there was a huge dispute between the cities of Tropea and Monteleone: both claimed the passage of the railway and their own station.

The question was whether the railway should travel along the coastal road or the internal one, deviating from the Angitola river. The Tropeans knew how to be united and determined, thus resulting victorious after long and passionate battles. The operational base was the municipal council presided over by Mayor Antonio Toraldo.

On 8 February 1884, with an extraordinary session, the municipal body unanimously voted for a request to be presented to the King’s Government and an invitation to quickly continue the work on the Eboli-Reggio Calabria line, keeping the coastal route unchanged as it had been established from the start.

To thwart the attacks of the opposing faction, the most capable technicians and experts of railway tracks were called upon. The rest was done by the tireless work of the aristocrat Carlo Toraldo, who, with his frequent trips to Rome, managed to weave a skilful persuasive work with the competent authorities and to carry out a careful and prudent parliamentary activity within the House of Representatives.

The railway had been finished in 1895, but the works had been going on for about ten years.

For the first time, Reggio Calabria was directly connected with Naples and Rome and, through the most important backbone of the national railway system, with Florence, Bologna and Milan.

Given the means and technology of the time, the time taken to build the line was relatively short. Among the construction companies, Calderai di Nicotera stood out, which was awarded the Tropea-Ricadi-Gioia Tauro section.

In 1894, the projects were exhibited at the ‘Exhibition of Great Railway Projects’ held in London. On that occasion, everyone could see the great effort that had been made to provide southern Italy with an adequate railway structure.

The railway line had served to remove Calabria from a centuries-old isolation, especially the area of the Poro and the coast where, in addition to the poor road network, the inclemency of the terrain made up of mountains and valleys that were difficult to traverse was added. Therefore, in these areas from the plateau to the sea, the train was experienced as a miracle of the times.

The engineers of the time rose to the occasion: truly daring works of intelligent architecture can still be found along the entire route today.

The technical and manpower and equipment effort was imposing, with great sacrifices also of human lives. When the location did not allow for the easy supply of materials, all the local forces were mobilised to enable the work to be carried out: from mules, to oxen, to women; all were used to transport construction materials.

In the section of the railway from Tropea to Ricadi, the line snaked its way halfway up the coast, winding close to the sea at a height of seventy metres.

Particularly impressive among the works carried out on the Tropea-Ricadi section was the bridge over the La Brace torrent. It required the construction of a viaduct to which, in the years following the First World War, another was added in anticipation of a doubling of the line. The two structures, although from different eras, had been executed with care and great construction artistry. The enthusiastic reactions expressed Enlightenment faith in progress and human capabilities. They also represented the interests of the aristocracy, who were happy to accept the novelty as it allowed for easier movement

the voices against it emphasised the fear of a distortion of the site and therefore the desire to remain anchored to the certainties of the past.