The Pons Neronianus or Bridge of Nero was an ancient bridge in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

built during the reign of the emperors

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

to connect the western part of the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for 'Field of Mars'; Italian: ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...

with the

Ager Vaticanus In ancient Rome, the ''Ager Vaticanus'' (, "Vatican Field") was the alluvial plain on the right (west) bank of the Tiber. It was also called ''Ripa Veientana'' or ''Ripa Etrusca'', indicating the Etruscan dominion during the archaic period. It ...

("Vatican Fields"), where the

imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

owned land along the

Via Cornelia Via Cornelia is an ancient Roman road that supposedly ran east–west along the northern wall of the Circus of Nero on land now covered by the southern wall of St. Peter's Basilica. The location is closely associated with the Via Aurelia and the ...

History

There is no direct evidence that

actually built the bridge named after him.Taylor, Rabun
Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome
' It may well have been named the 'Bridge of Nero' because the area on the right bank of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest 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 it is joined by the R ...

beyond the bridgehead was still named the "Plain(s) of Nero" well into the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

period, so that the inhabitants of Rome at that time, not knowing the origins of the ruined bridge, named it after the region rather than after Nero himself. Whatever its origins, the bridge gave Nero easier access to the Gardens of Agrippina, his mother

Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Agrippina was one of the most prominent ...

's riverside gardens and portico which were located on the right bank just downstream from the bridge. The Emperor

built a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

on the right bank of the

. The historian

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

says it was in this circus, renamed the

Circus of Nero The so-called Circus of Nero or Circus of Caligula was a circus (building), circus in ancient Rome, located mostly in the present-day Vatican City. It was first built under Caligula. History The ''Ager Vaticanus'', the alluvial plain outs ...

, that the Emperor

executed the

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

who were accused of causing the

Great Fire of Rome The Great Fire of Rome () began on 19 July 64 AD. The fire started in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus. After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignit ...

of 64 AD, in order to entertain the people of Rome after that fire. It is believed that Nero replaced the timber

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

of the

Via Triumphalis Via Trionfale is a Roman road that leads to and within Rome, Italy. Formerly called Via Triumphalis, it was an ancient consular road that connected Rome to Veii. The northern terminus of the road connects with the Via Cassia. History The name gi ...

with the stone bridge named after him, the Pons Neronianus or 'Triumphalis' because the Via Triumphalis, the Triumphal Way, passed over it. The people of Rome most likely crossed the Pons Neronianus to get to the Circus of Nero. Starting with

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

, the victorious

Emperors The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/ grand empress dowager), or a woman who rule ...

celebrating their

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

s entered Rome marching across the Pons Neronianus along the Via Triumphalis. It is probable that the capacity of the Pons Neronianus could not cope with the day to day traffic in Rome because within a century of its completion the Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

built the

Pons Aelius Pons Aelius (Latin for "Aelian Bridge"), or Newcastle Roman Fort, was an auxiliary castra and small Roman settlement on Hadrian's Wall in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior (northern England), situated on the north bank of the River Tyn ...

less than two hundred metres upstream. Nero's bridge was also called ''Pons Vaticanus'' (meaning "Vatican Bridge" in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

), because it connected the ''Ager Vaticanus'' to the left bank. The bridge may well have been in ruins in the fourth century. Certainly, by the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the bridge was called ''Pons ruptus'' ("Broken Bridge"), because it was broken. In the fifteenth century Pope

Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

planned to restore it. The Pons Neronianus is not mentioned in the classical literary sources or regionary catalogues; it is mentioned only in the medieval ''

Mirabilia Urbis Romae ''Mirabilia Urbis Romae'' (“Marvels of the City of Rome”) is a grouping of hundreds of manuscripts, incunabula, and books in Latin and modern European languages that describe notable built works and historic monuments in the city of Rome. M ...

'' and ''Graphia Aureae Urbis Romae'' as one of the ruins of Rome that could still be seen at that time. Neither is it mentioned in

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

’ account of the siege of Rome by the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

in 537. The evidence that the Pons Neronianus was out of use by the fourth century was first cited by

Henri Jordan Henri Jordan (30 September 1833, Berlin – 10 November 1886, Königsberg) was a German classical scholar who specialized in Roman archaeological topography. He was a son-in-law to historian Johann Gustav Droysen. He attended Joachimsthalsches ...

. It is based on a brief passage in

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ...

''Ibimus ulterius, qua fert uia pontis Hadriani,''

''laeuam deinde fluminis petemus.''

''Transtiberina prius soluit sacra peruigil sacerdos,''

''mox huc recurrit duplicatque uota.''

We shall cross over where the way of Hadrian’s bridge leads,

Then let us seek the river’s left bank.

First the sleepless priest performs the Transtiberine rites,

Then he hurries back to this side to repeat his prayers.Prudentius, Peristephanon 12.61–64

Prudentius was still alive when

Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...

and

Arcadius Arcadius ( ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to his death in 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the eastern half of ...

built the

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

referred to in the text quoted about a dual ceremony at

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

and the

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (, ) is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the Lateran, Saint Peter's, and Saint Mary Major, as well as one of the city’s Seven Pilgrim Ch ...

which states that the route to

St. Peter’s Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initially ...

from the east bank crossed at "Hadrian’s bridge", the

upstream. As passing over the Pons Neronianus would have been a shorter way to St. Peter’s Basilica from the left bank, it becomes clear that the Pons Neronianus was out of use by that time. The Pons Neronianus crossed the river immediately below the modern

Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II is a bridge in Rome constructed to designs of 1886 by the architect Ennio De Rossi. Construction was delayed, and it was not inaugurated until 1911. The bridge across the Tiber connects the historic centre of Rome ( Cors ...

, but at a slightly different angle; little of the ancient structure survives today. When the Tiber is at low water level it is possible to see the foundation of one of the four piers that once supported the Pons Neronianus.Pons Neronianus
in Samuel Ball Platner (as completed and revised by Thomas Ashby): ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', London:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, (1929) pg 401 However, in the nineteenth century all the piers were still visible above water. These were removed to allow boats to pass safely up the Tiber.

References

External links

The Tiber River, Tiber Bridges, and Tiber Island in Rome on catholic-resources.com

on the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Neronianus, Pons Bridges in Rome R. V Ponte Roman bridges in Italy Bridges completed in the 1st century Nero 1st-century establishments in Italy

History

See also

References

External links