The following 10 pages are in this category, out of 10 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).
1. Pons Aemilius – The Pons Aemilius, today called Ponte Rotto, is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome, Italy. Preceded by a version, it was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century BC. It once spanned the Tiber, connecting the Forum Boarium with Trastevere, the oldest piers of the bridge were probably laid when the Via Aurelia was constructed in the mid-2nd century BC. Titus Livius recorded that a bridge in the same location existed in 192 BC. The first stone bridge was constructed by Censor Marcus Fulvius Nobilior in the year 179 BC, the bridges piers date from this early period, although its arches were constructed in 142 BC. The bridge kept its place for several hundred years, although it was repaired, 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 AD, after which it was rebuilt by Pope Gregory XI, finally, floods in 1575 and 1598 carried the eastern half away, resulting in its abandonment as a functioning bridge for several centuries. For many years, it was used as a fishing pier, in 1853, Pope 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. The remaining half was demolished in 1887 to make room for the Ponte Palatino, list of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp. 67f. ISBN 0-521-39326-4 Media related to Ponte Rotto at Wikimedia Commons Pons Aemilius at Structurae The Waters of Rome, Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome
2. Ponte Milvio – The Milvian Bridge is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge. A bridge was built by consul Gaius Claudius Nero in 206 BC after he had defeated the Carthaginian army in the Battle of the Metaurus, in 115 BC, consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus built a new bridge of stone in the same position, demolishing the old one. In 63 BC, letters from the conspirators of the Catiline conspiracy were intercepted here, in AD312, Constantine I defeated his stronger rival Maxentius between this bridge and Saxa Rubra, in the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge. During the Middle Ages, the bridge was renovated by a monk named Acuzio, during the 18th and 19th centuries, the bridge was modified by two architects, Giuseppe Valadier and Domenico Pigiani. The bridge was damaged in 1849 by Garibaldis troops, in an attempt to block a French invasion. In 2000s, the bridge began attracting couples, who use a lamppost on the bridge to attach love padlocks as a token of love, the ritual involves the couple locking the padlock to the lamppost, then throwing the key behind them into the Tiber. The ritual was invented by author Federico Moccia for his popular book, after April 13,2007, couples had to stop this habit because that day the lamppost, due to the weight of all padlocks, partially collapsed. However, couples decided to attach their padlocks elsewhere, in fact, all around the bridge, road posts and even garbage bins have been used to place these love padlocks. As an online replacement, a web site has been created allowing couples to use virtual padlocks, in 2007, the mayor of Rome introduced a 50 euro fine on couples found attaching padlocks to the bridge. Similar love padlocks traditions have appeared in Italy and the rest of Europe, in September 2012, the city council decided to remove all padlocks by force. There was a risk that the bridge would collapse under the weight. List of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-39326-4 Media related to Ponte Milvio at Wikimedia Commons Pons Mulvius at Structurae Ritual draws sweethearts to Rome bridge article describing the padlock ritual Google Map
3. Ponte Salario – The Ponte Salario, also called Ponte Salaro during the Middle Ages, is a road bridge in Rome, Italy, whose origins date back to the Roman period. In antiquity, it lay outside the city limits,3 km north of the Porta Collina, at the point where the Via Salaria crossed the Aniene, the visible side arches are assumed to originate from the first stone structure built during the 1st century BC. At that time, the Ponte Salario was 72 m long and 6.52 m wide, the large bridge tower was possibly erected in the 8th century, allowing more effective control of the passage. In 1798, the Ponte Salario, which had been hitherto well-preserved due to repeated repairs, was battered by Napoleonic troops, in 1829, the medieval tower was demolished, and in 1849 the bridge was cut on a length of 15 m by French soldiers. In 1867, the once and for all lost its historical character. The Ponte Salario was reconstructed in its current form in 1874, apart from the Ponte Salario, there were other fortified bridges across the Aniene, such as the extant Ponte Nomentano, the Ponte Mammolo and the medieval Ponte di San Francesco in Subiaco. List of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering Galliazzo, Vittorio, I ponti romani
4. Via Aemilia – The Via Aemilia was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from Ariminum, on the Adriatic coast, to Placentia on the river Padus. It was completed in 187 BC, the Via Aemilia connected at Rimini with the Via Flaminia to Rome, which had been completed 33 years earlier. The land today known as northern Italy was known to the ancient Romans during the period as Gallia Cisalpina. This is because it was inhabited by Celtic tribes from Gaul. Italia meant the area inhabited by Italic tribes, the border between Italia and Gallia Cisalpina was roughly a line between Pisae and Ariminum, Gallia Cisalpina contained the Pianura padana. The Romans subjugated the Gauls of the Pianura Padana in a series of campaigns in the late 3rd century BC. By 220 BC, the Via Flaminia was completed, providing the Romans with ready access to the region, however, Roman expansion was delayed for some twenty years by the Second Punic War. During the Carthaginian general Hannibals invasion of Italy, Roman military control of the Pianura Padana was temporarily overthrown, many of the recently defeated tribes rebelled and joined forces with Hannibal in the hope of regaining their independence. It was not until 189 BC that the tribes had been pacified sufficiently to allow work on the Via Aemilia to begin. The settlers would be allocated fertile plots from lands confiscated from the native peoples. This was the function of the Via Aemilia, its period of construction also saw the foundation of Roman colonies along its whole length at Bononia, Mutina, Regium. The Via Aemilia was completed by, and named after, the Roman consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 187 BC. It ran, largely in a line,176 Roman miles NW from Rimini to its termination at Piacenza, passing through the cities of Forlì, Faenza, Bologna, Modena, Reggio. In the century following the construction of the Via Aemilia, Piacenza became the key Roman road hub in the pianura padana, in 148 BC, the Via Postumia linked Piacenza to Aquileia on the north Adriatic coast. In 109 BC, the consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus completed the Via Aemilia Scaura to Genua and it still bears its twin dedicatory inscriptions. At Bologna, milestone 78 was found in the bed of the river Reno and it records Augustus reconstruction of the Aemilia, in 2 BC, from Rimini as far as the river Trebbia. Remains of the Aemilia bridge over the Reno were found in the 1890s and these were originally 38.75 feet apart, of Veronese red marble. The bed of the river was found to have risen at least 20 feet since this bridge collapsed in the 9th century, ruins of some of the other ancient Roman bridges still exist
5. Via Postumia – The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the consul Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus. It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia and Cremona, the Roman conquest of Liguria depended upon this road, and several of the more important towns owed their origin largely to it. Cremona was its central point, the distance being reckoned from it both eastwards and westwards and it is later extended to Arelates joining the Via Domitia, through Dertona, Vada Sabatia, Albingaunum and Album Intimilium. The ancient Arco dei Gavi still marks the Via Postumias branch leading to Verona and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Postumia, Via. From 15 September 2015, Andrea Vitiello, a pilgrim of Santiago de Compostela, started his project to rediscover part of the Via Postumia. Andrea Vitiello and his team continue to improve the project that provide knowledge on the group of a social networks named Amici della Via Postumia)
6. Via Valeria – The Via Valeria was an ancient Roman road of Italy, the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina. It probably owed its origin to Marcus Valerius Messalla, censor in 154 BC and it is doubtful whether Via Valeria ran farther than the eastern point of the territory of the Marsi at Cerfennia, to the northeast of Lake Fucino, before the time of Claudius. Strabo states that in his day it went as far as Corfinium, and this important place must have been in some way accessible from Rome, but probably, beyond Cerfennia, only by a track. He also constructed a road, the Via Claudia Nova, connecting the Via Salaria and this road was continued south to Isernia. From Popoli the road followed the valley of the Aternus to its mouth, the modern railway from Rome to Castellammare Adriatico follows closely the line of the Via Valeria. The lost tomb of Perseus, last king of Macedon, was discovered by televised excavations in the Via Valeria in 2005, a second Via Valeria, the Via Valeria of Sicily, connected Messina and Siracusa. Today, Route 114 follows it in part, for an overview of the location of Roman bridges, see List of Roman bridges. There are the remains of at least two Roman bridges along the road, which are the Ponte San Giorgio and the Ponte Scutonico and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed. Roman road Roman bridge Roman engineering