Bobbio is a town in the province of Piacenza that has preserved its medieval appearance and taking a walk through its narrow streets is a real journey through time. The history of this small town is lost in the mists of time, in fact, the area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, but it became an important center since Roman colonization when the portion of the bridge known today as the Ponte Gobbo was built, to become in the early Middle Ages one of the most important centers of Western monasticism. In fact, in Bobbio, the Irish monk St. Columbanus founded a monastery that quickly developed one of the most important and prestigious libraries of all Christianity and where some of the oldest and most valuable Latin manuscripts of history are still preserved today. To get to the city center you will have to pass the first famous attraction of Bobbio, the long Devil’s Bridge, which crosses the river Trebbia and connects the city with the road leading to Piacenza. This bridge, of Roman origin, is formed by 11 long, irregular arches that give it an original and suggestive aspect, which is also the origin of the legends about its name. In fact, it is said that the bridge was built with this aspect by the devil himself to frighten the monks of the monastery of San Colombano and prevent them from crossing the river.
Once you enter the historic centre of Bobbio you will find yourself in front of a network of narrow cobbled streets and ancient buildings that embrace every corner of your gaze. The first stop of a walk through Bobbio can only be the Monastery of San Colombano, founded in 614 by the Irish monk of the same name who came down to Italy to get to Rome. The monastery is a powerful aggregation of buildings among which stands the facade of the basilica flanked by the elegant portico of the abbey, where the museum and the famous scriptorium are located.
