[2][3] Leonardo bragged that "it has been [the Sultan's] intention to erect a bridge from Galata (Pera) to Stambul… across the Golden Horn (‘Haliç’), but this has not been done because there were no experts available.

Leonardo is said to have been inspired by the then newly built bridge Ponte degli Alidosi over Santerno at Castel del Rio near Bologna with a 42 m high semicircular arch.

[6] In 2019, a research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tested the stability of Leonardo's design by building a 1:500 scale model using only blocks without using fasteners or mortar, replicating contemporary masonry construction techniques.

After the falsework was removed, the model proved to be stable under load, and the spread-footing design proposed by Leonardo was able to resist movement of the foundation.

[10] Several alternative materials were considered for the bridge, including the as-designed stone and concrete,[9] but ultimately the timber version was selected for construction.

[8] The da Vinci Bridge, completed in 2001, serves as a pedestrian crossing over highway E18 in Ås, approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Oslo.