Puente Calicanto, Road bridge in Huanuco, Peru

Puente Calicanto is a 60-metre road bridge over the Huallaga River in Huánuco, Peru. It was designed by Santos Benedetti, Silverio Lázzaro and Vitorio Albertini and built from 1879 to 1884 on two columns, using river stones bound with a mortar of lime, sand and egg whites.

Construction began in 1879 and was completed in 1884. The bridge was designed by Santos Benedetti, Silverio Lázzaro and Vitorio Albertini. It was built on a base of river cobbles bound with a mixture of lime, sand and egg whites.

The bridge is known locally as Calicanto, from the Spanish cal y canto, lime and stone, referring to the lime-and-sand mortar mixed with egg whites that binds its river stones. Its designers were Santos Benedetti, Silverio Lázzaro and Vitorio Albertini, engineers who came to Huánuco for the project.

The bridge carries traffic across the Huallaga River on a 60-metre span resting on two columns, linking the centre of Huánuco with the opposite bank. Cross on foot to read the stonework of river cobbles up close; the crossing itself takes only a few minutes.

The bridge was built using river stones and egg whites, a construction technique rarely used in Peru. This building method was innovative at the time and helped the structure endure for generations.