This paper reports the experimental results obtained from extensive laboratory tests to characterize the material and mechanical properties of brickwork masonry arch bridges. First, strength of bricks and mortar were characterized by performing material-level tests. Then, different types of masonry component specimens, including masonry prisms, masonry triplets, full-couplet and cross-couplet specimens, were constructed and load tested to characterize mechanical parameters of masonry and mortar joints. After that, shear box testing was performed on backfill materials and between brickwork and backfill to characterize their interface frictional properties, and also to evaluate the interaction between structure and backfill. Results from this experimental campaign can be used to develop and validate computational models for aging masonry arch bridges.