Piacenza railway bridge, Railway bridge over the Po in Piacenza, Italy

The Piacenza railway bridge carries the Milan-Bologna line across the Po over 754 m, made up of 11 pairs of iron trusses with a parabolic upper chord. Each truss is divided into 12 bays by rigid cross-beams, and each bay is split again by a diagonal and a secondary upright. Six spans measure 74.52 m and five measure 61.02 m.

The first bridge here opened on 9 November 1861: a temporary wooden viaduct on American-style piles, built in a few months by Jules-Achille Daigremont, and the first of its kind in Italy. The permanent iron bridge, designed by Pierre-Félix Moreaux, was inaugurated on 3 June 1865 as the first iron bridge along the Po. A flood destroyed part of the works in October 1863; the span was doubled in 1927-1931, destroyed by Allied bombing in July 1944, and rebuilt from May 1945, with the upstream girder reopened on 14 October 1945.

The cast-iron neo-Gothic portal that once framed the bridge entrance was later moved to the garden of a villa in Carpaneto Piacentino. The bridge is the first iron structure built along the Po, inaugurated on 3 June 1865 in the presence of Crown Prince Umberto of Savoy.

This span is part of an active railway corridor where trains run regularly, so pedestrians and vehicles cannot cross it. Visitors can best view the structure from train windows or from nearby vantage points along the riverbanks on both sides.

The 1865 iron bridge was the first iron bridge built along the Po. Its cast-iron neo-Gothic entrance portal was later moved to the garden of a villa in Carpaneto Piacentino. The 754 m deck rests on 11 pairs of iron spans with parabolic upper chords: six of 74.52 m and five of 61.02 m.