The Pons Aemilius (

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 ...

for the " Aemilian Bridge"; ) is the oldest Roman stone 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, ...

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

, connecting the

Forum Boarium The Forum Boarium (, ) was the cattle market or '' 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 Rome () ...

, the Roman cattle market, on the east with

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th of Rome, Italy. It is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin (). Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lion on a red background, the meaning of which i ...

on the west. A single arch in mid-river is all that remains today, lending the bridge its name Ponte Rotto ( Italian for the "Broken Bridge").

History

Antiquity

The oldest piers of the bridge were probably laid when the Via Aurelia 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 i ...

, 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 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 i ...

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 BC – 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 durin ...

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

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, and later by Emperor

Probus Probus may refer to: People * Marcus Valerius Probus (c. 20/30–105 AD), Roman grammarian * Marcus Pomponius Maecius Probus, consul in 228 * Probus (emperor), Roman Emperor (276–282) * Probus of Byzantium (–306), Bishop of Byzantium from 293 t ...

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 (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) 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 commissioning and being the namesake ...

; 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.

Modernity

For many years, it was used as a fishing pier. In 1853, Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

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

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

*
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