PLACES: Tulay Italyano

Tulay Italyano is now popularly known as Tulay Crossing or Crossing Bridge. It is the span that connects Crossing of Calamba and Barangay Parian near Riverview Resort & Conference Center.

Calamba old folks used to call it “Tulay Italyano." Contrary to the prevalent belief that it was constructed by Italian Soldiers after the Second World War, thus it was called “Tulay Italyano”, the bridge was constructed by US Army engineers. At that time, Italians were also busy rehabilitating their own country after the war that involved Hitler’s Germany and the Italian Co-Belligerent Forces.

The bridge was called Tulay Italyano or Italian Bridge because it is based on a segmental arch, typical of Italian or Roman arch bridges. The Romans were, as with the vault and the dome, the first to fully realize the potential of arches for bridge construction. Most edifices designed by Italian architects and engineers feature arches that support it.