Monday, 2 June 2008

Bridges between

My first effort in a new (to me) monthly photo challenge, Bridges Between, from Norway.


This was taken in Eze-Village, on the south coast of France, near Nice and Monaco. I went to see the bright yellow church, Notre Dame de l'Assomption, wandered round the back and found this lovely view.

The roads in this part of the world have an awful lot of bridges and tunnels but this bridge has a story.

The legend is that a peasant, fed up with having to walk for hours through the valley to cross to the other side, made a pact with the devil that it would be built overnight, in exchange for the soul of the first living being who crossed it.

The peasant couldn't sleep all night, worried about the sacrifice someone would make. The next morning he went to the road and found a wonderful new bridge and the devil waiting for his due. The peasant picked up a stick and threw it along the bridge. His dog chased after it and the devil was fooled.

The other version of the story is that it was built between 1911 and 1914.

The list of participants

26 comments:

  1. Eze-Village must be one of the most beautiful places in Provence. Driving up is no problem, climbing (walking) up from the parking is more challenging, but sitting there looking over to Corsica in clear weather is just breathtaking.
    You gave me the call to return.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful bridge and good information.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Welcome to "Brides Between".
    Wonderful photo and great story! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great picture and a very well "speaking" story ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. This was really a beautiful bridge, and a very exiting story to read.

    Thank you for showing ous...

    Nice day to you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. O hoi what a beautiful pic!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A wonderful bridge and a great legend!

    ReplyDelete
  8. 1. The bridge was beautiful "classic Roman style"

    2. The legend was a pearl.

    3. I'm afraid I that believe in the last version....

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cool shot... great story... he gave up his dog... he really musta felt guilty, that's quite a sacrafice.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sure nice bridge and great story to go with it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The devil is pretty dumb, but I still like that version better. 1911-1912? Pff. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great bridge.
    Great story.
    Beautiful scenery.

    Our Bridge is Built.
    Come visit,
    Troy and Martha

    ReplyDelete
  13. A great picture and a beauty place;)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wonderful bridge and a great story. Welcome to "Bridge Between":)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Interesting post! Beautiful bridge.

    ReplyDelete
  16. he devil was obviously a busy bee as the same legend is attached to the Pont du Diable near the Grottes de Clamouse (Montpellier-Millau), there's another one near Foix (Ariège) and St Gothard (Switzerland). As variety is the spice of life, in Cérêt (Roussillon) it's a cat wot cops it.
    j

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great effort. Nice weather and view, makes me want to take my family there.

    If this is your first attempt at a photo challenge, I welcome more of it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful photo. Thanks for sharing. Interesting info as well.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Nice picture and equally nice story.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great photo - and that legend is also told about Devil's Bridge near Aberystwyth in Wales. Although it was a woman in that case who had the Devil build it... I remember retelling the story to win my 'Wales' badge in Brownies!
    Actually, I just did some quick research and that legend is all over the place:
    http://www.answers.com/topic/devil-s-bridge

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thank you all for our comments. I had a feeling the devil had got about a bit, but I'd no idea he'd been as far as Wales!!:) :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. A charming story and lovelypicture. Welcome to Bridges betwee...

    ReplyDelete
  23. Lovely photo and a charming story:)

    ReplyDelete

Forethoughts, afterthoughts, any thoughts. Tell me.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin