How to reach
The Devil's Bridge is on the river Serchio near the town of Borgo a Mozzano, along the road 'SS12 dell'Abetone e del Brennero' that you can take from Lucca.
History
The 'Maddalena's Bridge' connects the two banks of the river Serchio at the height of Borgo a Mozzano. Its construction goes back to the era of the Countess Matilde di Canossa (1046–1115), who had large influence and power on this zone of Tuscany, the 'Garfagnana', but its current aspect is due to the reconstruction carried on by Castruccio Castracani (1281–1328), Sir of the near town of Lucca, at the beginning of the 14th century.
The aspect of this medieval bridge is the classic, for its high frequency in Tuscany, called 'donkey back', here, and this becomes a unique characteristic with asymmetric arches. The bridge is known as 'Devil's Bridge' in force of a popular legend, reinforced by its strange aspect: a master mason began its building but soon noticed that he would not be able to complete the work for the fixed day and was frightened of the possible consequences of asking the Devil for help. The Devil accepted to complete the bridge in a night in change of the spell of the first that would cross it. The contract was signed, but the constructor, full of remorse, confessed himself to a religious of the zone who advised him to let cross the bridge for first to a pig. So the Devil was defeated and he disappeared in the deepness of the river.