Pons Aemilius

Pons Aemilius
Pons Aemilius
	The remaining arch of the Pons Aemilius, located in the middle of the Tiber
Coordinates	41°53′22″N 12°28′46″E / 41.88944°N 12.47944°E
Carries	Connection Forum Boarium-Trastevere
Crosses	Tiber
Locale	Rome, Italy
Official name	Ponte Rotto
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Stone
No. of spans	Originally 7
History
Construction start	179 BC (First stone bridge)
Construction end	142 BC (First stone bridge)
Location
	Click on the map for a fullscreen view

The Pons Aemilius (

Aemilian Bridge"; Italian: Ponte Emilio) is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome. Preceded by a wooden version, it was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century BC. It once spanned the Tiber, connecting the Forum Boarium, the Roman cattle market, on the east with Trastevere 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

Probus in AD 280.^[3]

Middle Ages

Van Wittel

, showing the damage wrought by severe floods

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 XIII; the remnants of the bridge today still bear Latin inscriptions detailing Gregory XIII's renovation of the bridge.^[3]^[6] Finally, floods in 1575 and 1598 carried the eastern half away, resulting in its abandonment as a functioning bridge for several centuries.^[3]^[7]

Modernity

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

Pius IX 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.^[3]^[8] The remaining half was demolished in 1887 to make room for the Ponte Palatino, leaving behind only one arch that remains to this day.^[7]