Arco Meraviglia, the romantic legend of the two lovers

Even old Bari has its Romeo and Juliet, but the setting is a graceful stone arch

As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, old Bari is characterized by around fifty arches , each with its own historical reference; in this case, the legend linked to the Arco Meraviglia concerns a curious and romantic love story that, in some ways, recalls that of the famous Romeo and Juliet of Verona.

The legend revolves around the love story of two young people whose parents, opposed to their relationship, forbade them from seeing her beloved. The two lovers lived across the street, which led the young man to devise a plan to circumvent his fiancée's family's choice; so, with the help of his family, the fiancé decided to build a bridge connecting his home to his fiancée's.

According to the history of this bridge , characterized by a beautiful stone arch , it is said that it was built in a single night precisely to avoid arousing suspicion, so as to make the two young people "happily ever after", like the perfect ending to all the most beautiful love stories.

This is obviously just a legend; the Arco Meraviglia takes its name, in reality, from a Milanese family (the Meraviglia) and was also built to connect the two medieval houses (we are talking about 1500) , but with a very different objective than that of the lovers' story.
Now this beautiful arch is one of the most evocative architectural structures to visit in old Bari , as well as an exemplary testimony to the thousand-year history linked to this splendid village in the capital of Puglia .