ALBANO, Benedict Memoir on the construction of the stone bridge erected over the Dora Riparia, at Turin. London, Weale 1836
Small folio. (ii) + 12pp, 3 engraved plates, browned and with some staining at edges. Rare large paper offprint from Transactions of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Orig. cloth. Presentation inscription from the author. The Dora bridge in Turin was remarkable for the flatness of its single arch and for its span of 147ft. Its look of lightness and elegance was enhanced by the use of "cornes de vache", the chamfering of the edges of the arches to ease the passage of floods, something to which the Dora River was prone. The structure was designed and built by Mosca, architect and engineer to the King of Sardinia, and this memoir is the major source of information on it, describing the reasons behind the choice of form and method of construction. Albano tells of the means taken to ensure that the foundations and abutments would be able to withstand the high lateral thrust of such a shallow arch and how the centring and unusual service bridges had been designed to enable the accurate placing of the arch stones, which had been more than usually carefully cut to shape. Interestingly, though full of admiration for the technical prowess of the bridge, he is somewhat critical of its architectural form.
£350
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