Lucchetti

I locks Ponte Milvio?

I'm on the internet!

Birth of a portal that allows anyone who loves to attack its own virtual lock. Without the risk of someone coming off it to you!

by Alessia Martalò

May 11, 2007

all started with Federico Moccia's book, I want you, real cult for adolescents, but especially for adolescents today, which was celebrated for the first time rite of love padlock attached to a streetlight Ponte Milvio after closing it with the key and throwing it into the Tiber.
But, as often happens, the film manages to impose a fashion much more than a book and in fact it was the film, with characters Riccardo Scamarcio and Laura Chiatti , to spread the lock rite Thousands of Roman teenagers have begun to replicate the now famous scene, imitated in turn from their peers in Florence (Ponte Vecchio exactly, where to pay a fine of 50 euro fee for being found to attach padlocks to the gates of the monument to Cellini) and those of Milan (the Bridge of the Little Mermaid at Sempione Park) .

early fashion, then a social phenomenon, then still a pretext for a quarrel between left and right, the Ponte Milvio locks have certainly not had an easy life: were stolen, recovered by the Carabinieri and finally put in their place . Until , April 14, they did give up and almost collapsed, with their weight (they were now become many!), The lamp - when cordoned off - which had been hung. No more locks, then, at least until you find a solution? Not really.
time ago there was talk of a new place for the locks: an iron railing to be installed along a stretch of the bridge, so the boys could continue to make their vows, this time in a safer place and controlled. But then, as often happens, he's not talking anymore.
Meanwhile, a group of creative Romans had a great idea: create a website that could enable all children to hang their virtual lock. Thus was born the site www.lucchettipontemilvio.com : thanks to a sophisticated simulation three-dimensional, you can make an (almost) realistic virtual visit the ancient Roman bridge, as it was before the collapse of the street lamp - just a third of the bridge, looking towards the bridge of course France - and is also possible to attach a "digital lock" with his declaration of love .

Flavio Pinto one of the original promoters of this initiative speaks thus: "The idea came to us initially to the news of the theft of the locks, which were then luckily found," he explains, "We therefore decided to transfer it anywhere tradition, to allow to anyone in the world leave their promise of love. After the collapse of the lamp, we are even more convinced. "
The website offers various possibilities for virtual tour: You can determine the exact time of the visit (at dawn or dusk, day or night), look closely at the many "digital locks" that are present on the lamp post and listen to the slow flow of the river and the noise of city traffic.
Among the goals of this initiative is to remember as it was originally the bridge of the locks: "We call on all lovers who have taken a picture in front of the lamp post send it to us," said Adriano De Maio, another of designers. "Place these pictures on our website in order to leave an indelible mark of these promises of love."

Soon, the site you can also find an "official record", a guestbook containing the updated list of all the places in Italy and around the world where the fashion has broken the lock of love . few examples in waiting? Meanwhile, fashion is not as recent as it might seem at first sight: she was born, in fact, even in the last century in China, just in Qiandaohu Lake, 250 km from Shanghai. The island has a huge amount of Lock padlocks, placed along some railings (something like 200 thousand padlocks!). In the '80s, then, the ritual has arrived in Europe, initially in Hungary, where the locks have invaded the center of the small town of Pecs.

and close with the curious comment from a user's blog. Mario writes: "I work for a company that manufactures locks, since these books out of Moccia our turnover has increased significantly. The Moccia not I ever read (as Giorgio Manganelli said 'I have not read and do not like') but I would like to thank him. " As if to say, in these cases, there is always someone who makes money. is the suspicion that certain trends are born because of these reasons!