Swing bridges in the 19th century Italian dockyards

Italian Unification in 1861 fostered a reorganization of national infrastructures in order to adapt them to the status of other European countries.The strategic Navy sector was implemented with a new equipment supply system in order to achieve functional and autonomous weaponry production and to develop a network of shipbuilding and defensive structures. This infrastructural system pushed a multi-year plan of refurbishment and newly founded Italian dockyards, which included experimentation with the swing bridge built in iron and steel structures. This bridge design was already known on the peninsula with models in a wooden construction tradition. This produced an original variation in the second half of the 19 th century due to the influence of French and British models. Its construction combined multiple specializations of Italian engineering, involving national iron and steel construction, eager to obtain its technical and economic affirmation.