Old Rome: A Handbook to the Ruins of the City and the CampagnaBurn, Robert
History
Old Rome: A Handbook to the Ruins of the City and the Campagna
Burn, Robert
Rome (Italy) -- Antiquities; Rome (Italy) -- Description and travel
There is abundant evidence as to the position of this bridge, for the
Fasti Capranici place it ad Theatrum Marcelli, and the Cosmographia of
Æthicus ad Forum Boarium, both of which indications point to the Ponte
Rotto.
[Sidenote: Island of the Tiber.]
A short distance above the Æmilian bridge is the island of the Tiber.
According to the legend, this island was formed by the corn belonging to
the Tarquins grown on the Campus Martius, which after their expulsion was
consecrated to Mars. After consecration the corn could not be used for
food, and was therefore cut and thrown into the Tiber, and from this
corn, when collected into heaps by the stream, the island was formed.
Until the fifth century of the city, the island remained consecrated and
uninhabited, but in B.C. 292 a Temple of Æsculapius was built upon it in
consequence, as the story went, of the holy snake brought from Epidaurus
having swum to shore there. The island was probably at this time also
protected with stone embankments, and the two bridges were built, whence
the name inter duos pontes was given to it. A fragment of this ancient
stone embankment, which was in the shape of a ship, may still be seen in
the garden of the Franciscan Monks of S. Bartolommeo, representing part of
the prow of a ship, with a snake and the head of an ox carved in relief
upon it.
The two bridges uniting the island to either bank were probably, as has
been said, first erected in or about the fifth century of the city, but
the existing bridges, though ancient, must be considered as restorations
of the older fabrics.
The bridge on the side towards the Campus Martius was built by L.
Fabricius in B.C. 62, as the inscription still extant on the bridge shows.
In accordance with this we find Dion Cassius giving it the name of Pons
Fabricius, and a coin with the title L. Fabricius gives on the other side
a bridge with a snake, plainly pointing to the island of the Tiber.
Another inscription, also still remaining upon the bridge, states that it
was examined and found in good repair by Q. Lepidus and M. Lollius,
consuls in B.C. 21.
This bridge is the oldest now standing on the Tiber, and the masonry is of
admirable solidity and workmanship. It was called, in the Middle Ages Pons
Judæus, from its proximity to the Jews’ quarter of the city, and now bears
the name Quattro Capi from the jani quadrifrontes which stand upon it.[84]
These jani were formerly the posts which supported the railings of the
bridge, as may be seen by the holes bored in them for the ancient bronze
bars.
The twin bridge on the right-hand side of the river, dates from the
imperial era, and probably, like the Pons Fabricius, replaced a much older
bridge of the same age as the Temple of Æsculapius.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account