The Castruccio Bridge and the Dogane

The bridge is located in Lolle, in the hamlet of Piteglio.
Along the SS 633, passing Piteglio and heading for La Lima, there is a junction with appropriate indications on the left. The bridge was built by Castruccio Castracani (1281-1328), leader and lord of Lucca, on the river Lima, that at the time marked the border between Lucca and Pistoia. The bridge is realized with one round vault in sub-horizontal courses masonry with river pebbles and erratic stones; the height of the vault and the play of gradients of the road above make you think that the bridge purpose was to hide the sharp difference in level between the two banks, in order to facilitate the passage by wagon. On the left bank of the river there are two buildings called “Dogane”, that controlled the traffic of goods and people between Lucca and Pistoia.
The complex offers beautiful landscapes and it allows visitors to take a step back in time.
Not far away from there, it is also possible to visit another masonry bridge, built with the same technique, but smaller in size.
Since 2011, on the edge of the bridge, in the ancient buildings of Dogane, there is a comfortable farmhouse and restaurant.