Vecchio bridge, Railway viaduct in Venaco, France

Vecchio Bridge is a railway viaduct crossing the Vecchio River between Vivario and Venaco using a three-section metal span. Two sturdy pillars support the entire structure and carry trains across the valley below.

The viaduct was designed by Maurice Koechlin for the Société de Construction de Levallois-Perret, successor to the Eiffel workshops, and built between 1890 and 1894 by contractor Guillaume Tollinchi. It opened the Corte–Vivario section of the Bastia–Ajaccio railway on 3 December 1894. It was listed as a monument historique on 29 July 1976.

The old bridge is abandoned and replaced by a new viaduct, but Corsican oral tradition recorded by Roccu Multedo places mazzeri battles between Venaco and Vivario here on the second night of November.

The bridge is best viewed from the valley below or from the train itself, as it sits high above the river. You can approach it by road from either Vivario or Venaco, though the structure itself carries only rail traffic.

The bridge features hollow abutments that form double arches, a clever way to reduce the weight of the structure while maintaining strength. This engineering choice made the metal framework more efficient and easier to build.