Pons Cestius Italian:Ponte Cestio | |
|---|---|
 The Pons Cestius in its modern form  | |
| Coordinates | 41°53′24.8″N12°28′38″E / 41.890222°N 12.47722°E /41.890222; 12.47722 |
| Carries | pedestrians, motor vehicles |
| Crosses |
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| Locale | Rome,Italy |
| Next upstream | Ponte Garibaldi |
| Next downstream | Ponte Palatino |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | arch bridge |
| Material | Stone (tuff,peperino,travertine) |
| Total length |
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| Width |
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| Longest span | 23.65 metres (77.6 ft)(ancient) |
| No. of spans | 3 |
| Piers in water | 2 |
| History | |
| Built |
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| Rebuilt |
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| Location | |
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ThePons Cestius (Latin for the "Cestian Bridge";Italian:Ponte Cestio) is anancient Romanbridge connecting the right bank of theTiber with the west bank ofTiber Island inRome,Italy.[1] InLate Antiquity, the bridge was replaced and renamed thePons Gratiani[1] ("Bridge of Gratian"). It is also known asPonte San Bartolomeo[1] (Italian for "Bridge of St Bartholomew"). No more than one third of the present stone bridge is of ancient material, as it was entirely rebuilt and extended in the 19th century after numerous earlier restorations.[1]
The original bridge was built around the 1st century BC (some time between 62 and 27 BC),[citation needed] after thePons Fabricius, which connects the other side of island to the river's left bank. The identity of the Cestius referred to in the bridge's name is unknown. He may have been responsible for building the bridge or for later restoring an existing one, and may have been a member of thegensCestia during the laterRoman Republic.[1]
The Pons Cestius was the first bridge that reached the right bank of the Tiber from Tiber Island. Whereas the island was long connected with the left bank of the Tiber and the heart ofancient Rome, even before the Pons Fabricius was built, the right bank (Transtiber) remained unconnected until the Pons Cestius was constructed. Several members of the Cestii from the 1st century BC are known, but it is unknown which of them was responsible.[2] Thegens Cestia was not a prominent family until the time of Gaius Cestius Epulo, whose tomb, thePyramid of Cestius (about 18–12 BC), survives, built into Rome's 3rd-centuryAurelian Walls.[1]
The Pons Cestius was restored during the reign of the emperorAntoninus Pius (r. 138–161); an inscription commemorating the rebuilding was installed on the structure.[1]
In the 4th century, the Pons Cestius was replaced by a new structure. According to the 5th century Latin historianPolemius Silvius, in 370 it was rededicated as the Pons Gratiani, to the brother-emperorsValentinian I (r. 364–375) andValens (r. 364–378) and Valentinian's sonGratian (r. 367–383), the reigning co-augusti of theValentinianic dynasty.[1] The bridge was rebuilt using volcanictuff stone andpeperino marble, with a facing oftravertine limestone.[1] Some of the rebuilding material came from the demolishedportico of the nearbyTheatre of Marcellus.[3] Inscriptions on marble panels commemorating the work and naming the emperors were installed on the bridge and on theparapet.[1] The 4th-century bridge probably followed the architectural lines of its Republican predecessor.[1] Before the 19th-century rebuilding, the bridge was 48 metres (157 ft) long, with central arch spanning of 23.65 metres (77.6 ft) flanked by two arches each spanning 5.8 metres (19 ft). The bridge was 8.2 metres (27 ft) broad.[1]
Both thepontes Cestius and Fabricius were long-lived bridges. Although the Fabricius remains wholly intact, thePonte Cestio was restored several times from the 12th century and wholly dismantled and rebuilt in the 19th century, with only some of the ancient structure preserved.[1]
During the embankment of the Tiber's channel in 1888–1892, the building of the walls and boulevards (thelungoteveri) along the river necessitated the Roman bridge's demolition and the reconstruction of a new bridge.[1] The ancient bridge, which had two small arches either side of the wide central span, was simply not long enough. The present bridge, with three large arches, was constructed in its stead, with its central arch reusing about two-thirds of the original material.[1]
Two thirds of the present structure dates to this period, with only around a third of the structure built from pre-modern material.[1] After the 19th-century rebuilding, the bridge was 80.4 metres (264 ft) long, with the original central arch flanked by two other arches of equal span.[1] The Italian name Bridge ofSt Bartholomew derives from the church andminor basilica ofSan Bartolomeo all'Isola ("St Bartholomew of the Island") on Tiber Island.
| Preceded by Vigna Randanini | Landmarks of Rome Pons Cestius | Succeeded by Pons Fabricius |
