Ancient Rome had originally only one bridge, the _Pons Sublicius_; it consisted at first entirely of wood, and could be taken down for the purpose of defending the city against the attacks of an enemy. This bridge remained for a long time the only one. The _Pons Milvius_, in the neighbourhood of Rome, was likewise very ancient, but was three Roman miles distant from the Porta Carmentalis. After the third Punic war, Scipio, as censor, built a second bridge (_Pons Palatinus_) across the Tiber. It was situated before the Velabrum, near to the Pons Sublicius, and between it and the island. Not a trace of the Pons Sublicius now exists. The Milvian bridge was at first likewise made of wood, and no doubt that of Scipio also. The latter remained throughout the middle ages until the sixteenth century. There have been hydrostatic disputes about this bridge, as to whether it was built flat against the current of the river or not; it does not, however, seem probable, that, if it had been constructed on a wrong principle, it should have existed for a period of 1700 years; we must rather suppose that during this long interval the Tiber changed its course. In the sixteenth century, when the river had retreated, the bridge broke down. I am of opinion that Cavaliere Linotte, who asserts this, is right, although he is not a man of learning: such investigations do not require much learning, and good common sense is often of greater assistance. In the same century, the bridge was restored, but twenty years later it broke down again; at present only a few arches of it exist, and the first, on the opposite bank, may be assumed with certainty to be the one that was built by Scipio. A poor woman had established a garden upon its ruins, and for the payment of a trifle I was allowed to go there as often as I liked. The _island_ which, according to tradition, was formed out of the corn thrown into the river after the expulsion of the Tarquins, is remarkable for the temple of Aesculapius. Even in very early times, and long before the age of Augustus, the incredibly tasteless attempt was made to give to that temple the form of a ship, in imitation of the vessel in which the god had been conveyed to Rome; it was built of travertine. During the middle ages a considerable part of the temple still existed, as may be seen from a drawing of Boissard, which was made in the fourteenth century. Old people under Pius VI. still saw a great deal of it, but afterwards a large part of the wall was used for other purposes; in like manner a splendid part of the thermae of Titus was destroyed as late as 1796. The island was connected with the mainland on both sides by the _Pons Cestius_ and the _Pons Fabricius_, which were very ancient. Next came the _Pons Senatorius_, on the spot now occupied by the Ponte Sisto; _Pons Aelius_ near S. Angelo, and the _Pons Milvius_ outside the city, now Ponte Molle. I shall now proceed to speak of LATIUM