Italy: Town finds solution to shrinking population – a bridge in the sky

Hermione Kitson

Rome: You don’t need to suspend your disbelief – this bridge is for real! Italy has opened Europe’s highest pedestrian suspension bridge and it’s much more than just a link from one point to another.

?The Tibetan-style bridge stretches over a valley between Sellano and Montesanto in the Umbrian region. Sellano was built in medieval times, but its population has been shrinking since a series of earthquakes hit the area eight years ago. Officials are hoping the structure will attract tourists and promote some much-needed growth.

“It is special because nature is the main actor,” says Sellano mayor, Attilio Gubbiotti. “We are here on this ridge which separates the valley of Valnerina and the Menotre Valley, and it’s a fantastic place.”

The bridge is 175 meters high and 517 meters long. It can hold up to 75 visitors at a time and takes around 40 minutes to cross.

Sellano councillor Roberto Battista says the town wasn’t aiming for a record, but it’s quite happy with its achievement.

?”We just wanted to have something special in a special place and as it happens, it’s one of the longest and one of the tallest in Europe, so it’s good.”

Residents of several villages in Umbria abandoned their homes after the earthquakes in 2016. Sellano used recovery funds from the European Union to build the bridge. It’s part of a broader plan to revitalize the area and stimulate the local economy.

Now, officials are hoping to inspire a comeback – literally. ?”We feel happy,” says Gubbiotti. “Sellano continues to suffer significant shrinking in terms of population since the earthquakes. So, this is a big resource for our territory.”

‘We wanted to give you goosebumps’

The bridge has 1,023 steps and there’s a 30-centimeter space between each one.? Gubbiotti says the designers did this to ensure the bridge isn’t loaded with too much weight.

But there was another motive – they wanted visitors to look down the entire way. “We want to evoke the sensation of nothing below, to give you goosebumps,” says Gubbiotti.

The bridge operators say they’ve been flooded with inquiries and thousands of people have already made bookings for the summer.

?”We’ve done something that has a very high impact from a social point of view and a very low impact from an environmental point of view,” says Battista.

?And make no mistake, when you’re on this bridge, views are very much part of the experience. Sellano will be hoping it’s an experience that visitors won’t forget anytime soon.