The 'Ponte dei Salti' stone bridge soars over the turquoise Verzasca with two arches. 400 years after its completion, is draws visitors in droves on a daily basis. Some photograph the picture-perfect subject from all sides, others use the bridge as a springboard for diving into the refreshing water.
Anyone driving on the narrow road which meanders along the green Verzasca valley cannot miss the stone bridge at Lavertezzo: with its two arches and the elegant curvature, the 'Ponte dei Salti' makes an exciting contrast to the otherwise rather wild nature of the valley and offers the multitudes of visitors from around the world a picture-perfect subject for their holiday photo album.
While some start on the various hiking routes from here, others enjoy the picturesque bathing site. They leap from the medieval double arch bridge into the turquoise waters of the Verzasca and then lie on a stone in the sun. Anyone who wants to embellish their bathing trip with a little more history can find another architectural gem in Lavertezzo: the 'Beata Vergine degli Angeli' church.
References:Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.
The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).