L' Ephémère In Roma

One of the most beautiful bridges in Rome

An attractive bridge in Rome, the capital of Italy. Also beautiful at night. Great atmosphere. It connects the Tiber Island with the city. A pleasant walk along it. In beautiful weather, nice views of the river and the city. A perfect place to meet friends. An intriguing story. I recommend!

Ponte Cestio, also known as pons Aurelius, pons Gratiani, San Bartolomeo bridge or Ferrato bridge, is a bridge in Rome over the Tiber river, a nineteenth-century reconstruction of the Roman bridge of the same name. It is one of the two bridges in the capital that does not directly connect the opposite banks of the river: like the neighboring Fabricio bridge, in fact, it connects the Tiber Island with one of the two banks, in this case the right one, at the height of Lungotevere degli Anguillara, near Piazza in Piscinula, in Trastevere. The bridge was built by Lucius Cestius in 46 or 44 BC, symmetrically to the Fabricius bridge. It underwent a first restoration in 152, under Antoninus Pius, and an inscription commemorating this restoration was placed on the parapet of the bridge, but it was completely rebuilt in 365 with reused materials, also coming from the nearby Theater of Marcellus, by the emperors Valentinian I, Valens and Graziano; In 370 he dedicated the latter to himself by inserting an inscription in Proconnesian marble in the upstream abutment and thus giving the bridge the new name of Pons Gratiani. The bridge was covered with travertine slabs. Another restoration, documented by an epigraph placed next to Gratian's epigraph, took place in 1191-93 by Benedetto Carushomo, senator of Rome in 1191. Other interventions took place in the 15th century under Eugene IV and in the 17th century under Innocent XI. From the 15th century it took the name of "San Bartolomeo bridge" from the Basilica of San Bartolomeo all'Isola. The bridge was seriously damaged during the siege of Rome in 1849: in particular, a second epigraph by Gratian present on the parapet downstream of the bridge was lost. In the 18th and 19th centuries it also had the name of Ponte Ferrato, due to the numerous chains that anchored the mills on the river. Due to the widening of the right bank of the Tiber near the island to 70 metres, the bridge was demolished in 1885 and rebuilt in 1889. Initially it was thought to save the central arch by widening the two lateral ones, going from 48 meters of the Roman bridge to 76 of the new bridge, but for technical reasons it was decided to completely demolish it. The stone covering material was partially recovered, but only a part of this (347 slabs) was reassembled on the central arch. The inscription on the Roman bridge relating to the restoration of 370 AD. by the emperors Valentinian I, Valens and Gratian, it was reinserted on the right abutment of the modern bridge. The new bridge is covered in travertine slabs, apart from the underarches which are covered in peperino di Albano. Ponte Cestio was restored like the nearby Fabricio bridge on the occasion of the Jubilee of 2000.

One of the oldest bridges in Rome, with an interesting history.

Entrance bridge to Trastevere with beautiful views.

Gateway to Trastevere from Isola Tiberina. Another amazing bridge in Rome. Well preserved and accessible to vehicles. It has great scenery as well as amazing view of the river of which the island cuts it in half.