BRIDGES

By the fourth century ad, Rome boasted at least seven well-made stone bridges within the city limits that connected the right and left banks of the Tiber. The Romans were excellent practical engineers, and many of their bridges remained in active use long after the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Roman word for bridge is pons, and the oldest and most famous bridge in Rome was the Pons Sublicius, which linked the Forum Boarium with the Transtiberim just below Tiber Island. This was roughly the site of the old ferry crossing that served the early trade route of the Via Salaria and thus was a logical site for Rome's first permanent bridge. This bridge had religious connections, as evidenced by the title of the chief priest of Rome, the Pontifex Maximus. (It is from this title that the modern term pope is derived, and even today, the official title of the pope is the Pontifex Maximus.) A unique quality of the Pons Sublicius was that it was constructed out of wood without the use of any metal, apparently due to religious requirements. The bridge was repeatedly destroyed by violent floods but continued to be rebuilt using only wood for several hundred years.

The first stone bridge in Rome, the Pons Aemilius, was built in 179 bc, also just below Tiber Island, close to the site of the Pons Sublicius. This bridge remained standing for over 1,500 years until the sixteenth century, when a section was carried away by a flood. Two other bridges of note connected Tiber Island to the east and west banks. The Pons Cestius linked the island with the Transtiberim and the Pons Fabricius joined the island to the left bank. Both of these seem to have been in place by the Late Republic. The Pons Fabricius is today known as the Ponte Quattro Capi and is essentially the original Roman bridge with some modern accretions to its superstructure; as such, it is the best-preserved Roman bridge in the city.