Steinerner Steg

The Steinerner Steg (Italian: Ponte Romano) is a two-arched, stone-built footbridge across the Passer in Merano, South Tyrol, northern Italy.

The oldest bridge in the town, it connects the historic centre and the Steinach district with the Obermais quarter.

[1] In 1615 the wooden aqueduct which spanned the river here had fallen into disrepair and the town decided to demolish it and build a stone bridge in its place.

“Steinerner Steg” is simply German name for “stone footbridge”, while “Ponte Romano” is the Italian equivalent of “Roman bridge”.

Although the latter name has been taken to imply that the bridge might have ancient Roman origins, but in fact “Ponte Romano” was only introduced on December 2, 1927 by the fascist authorities as part of their Italianization of South Tyrol campaign.