The Ponte Coperto or the Ponte Vecchio is a stone and brick arch bridge over the river Ticino in Pavia, Italy. The previous bridge, dating from 1354, was heavily damaged by Allied action in 1945. A debate on whether to fix or replace the bridge ended when the bridge partially collapsed in 1947, requiring new construction, which began in 1949. The new bridge is based on the previous one, which had seven arches to the current bridge's five.