basket arch

Also known as: basket-handled arch

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Last updated

June 22, 2026

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A basket-handle arch is a low-crowned elliptical arch drawn from three or more centers. This design, also known as a basket-handled arch, was adapted from the medieval ogival arch by Bartolommeo Ammannati. He started the curves of the arches vertically from the piers, creating an elliptical shape with a low rise-to-span ratio. Ammannati's Santa Trinità Bridge in Florence, completed in 1569, featured two such elliptical arches.12

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Stone arch bridges
…as 1:7, became known as basket-handled and has been adopted widely since. Ammannati’s elegant Santa Trinità Bridge (1569) in Florence, with two elliptical arches, carried pedestrians and later automobiles until it was destroyed during World War II; it was afterward rebuilt with many of the original materials recovered from the…
Read More
…as 1:7, became known as basket-handled and has been adopted widely since. Ammannati’s elegant Santa Trinità Bridge (1569) in Florence, with two elliptical arches, carried pedestrians and later automobiles until it was destroyed during World War II; it was afterward rebuilt with many of the original materials recovered from the…
Read More