Cesse Aqueduct, Navigable aqueduct in Mirepeisset, France.
The Cesse Aqueduct is a water bridge in Mirepeisset that carries the Canal du Midi across the Cesse River. The structure contains three stone arches of different sizes, with the middle one wider than the two on either side.
The aqueduct was designed in 1686 and completed in 1690, replacing an earlier structure from the canal's beginnings. It became part of a larger 17th-century project to link distant regions of France.
This structure represents how people engineered solutions to move goods across obstacles they could not avoid. Visitors can observe how a 17th-century design still serves its original purpose today.
Visitors can view the structure from the riverbank or walking paths to see how water flows above while the river passes below. The best vantage point is from the side where the river flows underneath the bridge.
The upstream side displays visible marks from centuries of flood damage that tell the story of nature's forces testing the structure. These scars show how the bridge has endured repeated challenges from the river.
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