The Pons Aemilius ( it, Ponte Emilio), today called Ponte Rotto, is the oldest Roman stone bridge in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Preceded by a wooden version, it was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century BC. It once spanned the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

, connecting the

Forum Boarium The Forum Boarium (, it, Foro Boario) was the cattle '' forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of R ...

with Trastevere; a single arch in mid-river is all that remains today, lending the bridge its name ''Ponte Rotto'' ("Broken bridge").

History

Classical antiquity

The oldest piers of the bridge were probably laid when the

Via Aurelia The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cla ...

was constructed in the mid-2nd century BC.Claridge (2010), p. 258. According to

Titus Livius Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, there existed a bridge in the same location as the Pons Aemilius in 192 BC. The first stone bridge was constructed by Censor

Marcus Fulvius Nobilior Marcus Fulvius Nobilior was a Roman general. He started his political career as curule aedile in 195 BC. When he was praetor (193 BC) he served with distinction in Spain, and as consul in 189 BC he completely broke the power of the Aetolian Leag ...

several years after that, in 179 BC

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

40.51.4 (although it was not completed until 151 BC).Forney & Hobart (1892), p. 117. The bridge's piers date from this early period, although its arches were constructed by

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

and

L. Mummius Lucius Mummius (2nd century BC), was a Roman Republic, Roman statesman and general. He was consul in the year 146 BC along with Scipio Aemilianus. Mummius was the first of his family to rise to the rank of consul thereby making him a novus homo. ...

in 142 BC. The bridge kept its place for several hundred years, although it was repaired and rebuilt both by

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, and later by Emperor Probus in AD 280.

Middle ages

Tiber with the Ponte Rotto and the Aventine Hill 1690

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the bridge was damaged several times by floods, with each flood taking a greater and greater toll on the overall structure. It was first severely damaged in 1230, after which it was rebuilt by Pope Gregory XI. Later, the bridge was more seriously damaged by the flood of 1557, but again was later rebuilt by Pope

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

; the remnants of the bridge today still bear Latin inscriptions detailing Gregory XIII's renovation of the bridge.Lansford (2011). Finally, floods in 1575 and 1598 carried the eastern half away, resulting in its abandonment as a functioning bridge for several centuries. For many years, it was used as a fishing pier. In 1853, Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

had the remnants of the bridge connected to the mainland via an iron footbridge, but the heavy metal weakened the structural integrity of the stone. The remaining half was demolished in 1887 to make room for the Ponte Palatino, leaving behind only one arch that remains to this day.Platner (1929), pp. 3978.

References

Sources

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External links

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The Waters of Rome: Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome
*High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images o
Pons Aemilius , Art Atlas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aemilius, Pons Bridges to nowhere Bridges in Rome Roman bridges in Italy Deck arch bridges Stone bridges in Italy Bridges completed in the 2nd century BC 140s BC establishments 2nd-century BC establishments in Italy Former bridges in Italy Rome R. XII Ripa