Tiber Island Isola Tiberina | |
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.jpg) A view of the Tiber Island. | |
| Coordinates | 41°53′27″N12°28′38″E / 41.8908°N 12.4772°E /41.8908; 12.4772 |
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TheTiber Island (Italian:Isola Tiberina,Latin:Insula Tiberina) is the onlyriver island in the part of theTiber which runs throughRome. Tiber Island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber.
The island is boat-shaped, approximately 270 metres (890 feet) long and 67 metres (220 feet) wide, and has been connected with bridges to both sides of the river since antiquity. Being a seat of the ancient temple ofAsclepius and later a hospital, the island is associated with medicine and healing. TheFatebenefratelli Hospital founded in the 16th century, and the basilica church ofSan Bartolomeo all'Isola dating from the 10th century, are located on the island.
The island has been linked to the rest of Rome by two bridges sinceantiquity, and was once calledInsula Inter-Duos-Pontes which means "the island between the two bridges". ThePonte Fabricio, the only original bridge in Rome, connects the island from the northeast to theField of Mars in therioneSant'Angelo (left bank). ThePonte Cestio, of which only some original parts survived, connects the island toTrastevere on the south (right bank).
There is a legend which says that after the fall of the hated tyrantTarquinius Superbus (510 BC), the angryRomans threw his body into the Tiber. His body then settled onto the bottom where dirt and silt accumulated around it and eventually formed Tiber Island. Another version of the legend says that the people gathered up the wheat and grain of their despised ruler and threw it into the Tiber, where it eventually became the foundation of the island.[1]
Prior to the 3rd century BC, Roman use of the island is not mentioned by any sources.[2]
Tiber Island was once the location of an ancient temple toAesculapius, the Greekgod of medicine and healing. In 293 BC, there was a greatplague in Rome. Upon consulting theSibyl, theRoman Senate was instructed to build a temple toAesculapius, the Greek god of healing, and sent a delegation toEpidauros to obtain a statue of the deity. The delegation went on board a ship to sail out and obtain a statue.[1]
Following their belief system, they obtained a snake, closely associated and dear to the god, from a temple and put it on board their ship. It immediately curled itself around the ship's mast and this was deemed as a good sign by them. Upon their return up the Tiber river, the snake slithered off the ship and swam onto the island. Believing this was an incarnation of the god himself, a temple to Aesculapius was erected just where the serpent landed.[1]
The island may have been chosen as the site for the temple to distance it from the rest of the city, as well as for access to flowing water for use in the temple.[2]
The island eventually became so identified with the temple it supported that it was modeled to resemble a ship in reference to the story of the temple's founding.Travertine facing was added in mid or late first century by the banks to resemble a ship's prow and stern, and anobelisk was erected in the middle, symbolizing the vessel's mast. Walls were put around the island, and it came to resemble a Roman ship. Faint vestiges of Aesculapius' rod with an entwining snake are still visible on the "prow".
After the Temple of Aesculapius, shrines dedicated to other deities were also erected after the 2nd century BC, namely:[3]
In time, the obelisk was removed and replaced with a cross-topped column. After it was destroyed in 1867,Pope Pius IX had anaedicula, called "Spire", put in its place. This monument, designed byIgnazio Jacometti, is decorated with statues of four saints related to the island:St. Bartholomew the Apostle,St. Paulinus of Nola,St. Francis of Assisi andSt. John of God. Parts of the obelisk are now in the museum[which?] inNaples.
In 998EmperorOtto III had abasilica, that ofSan Bartolomeo all'Isola, built over the Aesculapius temple's ruins on the eastern side (downstream end) of the island.[3] This was dedicated to his friend, the martyrAdalbert of Prague; the name ofSt. Bartholomew was added only later. In the early 20th century, prior to theFascist regime's restoration of ancient place names, the Tiber Island was called the Isola di S. Bartolomeo.[4] Likewise,Cestius' Bridge was called the Ponte S. Bartolomeo.
The island is still considered a place of healing because a hospital, founded in 1584, was built on the island and is still operating. It is staffed by theHospitaller Order of St. John of God or "Fatebenefratelli".[5] The hospital was not built on the same spot as the temple, but stands on the western half of the island.
During the 1930s, almost all the houses on the island were demolished to allow for the enlargement of the hospital.
During WWII, when the Nazis occupied Rome in September 1943 and started rounding up the Jews, Dr. Borromeo, head of the hospital, invented an imaginary deadly and highly contagious illness he dubbed “Il Morbo di K” to keep the SS away and protect those Jews hiding inside the wards, just a stone's throw from the Ghetto.[6]
During summer, the island hosts theIsola del Cinema film festival.[7]
The island serves as the player's headquarters in the 2010 action-adventure stealth video gameAssassin's Creed: Brotherhood.
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41°53′27″N12°28′38″E / 41.89083°N 12.47722°E /41.89083; 12.47722
