Via degli Asini (Via del Borgo)

A line of blind arches marks the houses of Brisighella. Behind them, the Via degli Asini is a covered, elevated street that began as a sentry walk and later became associated with the gypsum trade.

Why it matters

Brisighella's elevated walkway links hillside, rooftops and the town's historic building fabric. Its arches vary in width, filtering daylight into the passage; below, the street slopes towards Piazza Marconi. The structure began as a fortified patrol path and was later absorbed into houses and commercial buildings.

What to notice

The arches have unequal spans and deep shadows. The covered, raised passage has windows of varying width opening towards the valley. At its entrance, the Porta delle Dame is associated by local tradition with the women who welcomed visitors. A plaque commemorates brothers Gaetano and Giovanni Amleto Cicognani, both born in this quarter and later elevated to the cardinalate. The arches form part of the historic townscape around Piazza Marconi and the stair rising towards the fortress.

Context and history

The structure probably dates to the fourteenth century. The town's history describes it as an early defensive bulwark: an elevated, originally open walkway where guards patrolled the perimeter and moved between positions. When the lookout function faded, residents roofed the passage and incorporated it into the quarter. Later, carters transporting gypsum from the quarries above the village used the corridor; donkeys hauling the loads gave the street its present name. Stables faced the arches, families lived above, and carts were kept in large chambers cut into the gypsum below. Gypsum also shaped the fortress, the Tanaccia cave and the quarries behind the Santuario del Monticino, connecting the street to Brisighella's extractive history.