The Ancient Lava Stone Hip in Sicily

This Roman-era relic, in contrada Pietralunga, has been a part of Catania's landscape for centuries. Measuring 4.15 meters wide, typical of Roman roadways, it extends about 23 meters in length. Constructed entirely from lava stone, it earned the nickname 'the hip of the bridge'. Archaeological explorations led by Soprintendenza ai beni culturali e ambientali di Catania in 1997 unearthed traces of pre-Roman human settlements and artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age in the same area. Some scholars speculate that the bridge might have been intentionally destroyed by the historically notorious Dionysius I as he fled the Carthaginians, in an attempt to block their passage.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons