Pons Fabricius

The Pons Fabricius (Italian: Ponte Fabricio ("Fabricius' Bridge") or Ponte Quattro Capi) is the oldest bridge in Rome that is still in use. Built in 62 BC, it spans half of the Tiber River, from the Campus Martius on the east side to Tiber Island in the middle. (The Pons Cestius is west of the island.) "Quattro Capi" ("four heads") refers to the two marble pillars of the two-faced Janus herms on the parapet, which were moved here from the nearby Church of St. Gregory (Monte Savello) in the 14th century. Claridge, Amanda (1998). "Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide". Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.]

According to Dio Cassius, the bridge was built in 62 BC, the year after Cicero was consul, to replace an earlier wooden bridge destroyed by fire. It was commissioned by Lucius Fabricius, the curator of the roads and a member of the gens Fabricia of Rome. Completely intact from Roman antiquity, it has been in continuous use ever since.

The Pons Fabricius has a length of 62 m, and is 5.5 m wide. It is constructed from two wide arches, supported by a central pillar in the middle of the stream. Its nucleus is built of blocks operino] . its outer facing today is made of bricks and travertine.

An original inscription on the travertine commemorates its builder in elegant Roman capitals, "L . FABRICIVS . C . F . CVR . VIAR | FACIVNDVM . COERAVIT | IDEMQVE | PROBAVIT". It is repeated four times: on each arch, on both sides of the bridge.

A later inscription, in smaller lettering, records that the bridge was later restored under Pope Innocent XI, probably in 1679.

References

*cite book|first=Colin|last=O'Connor|title=Roman Bridges|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1994|id=ISBN 0-521-39326-4

See also

* Roman bridge
* List of Roman bridges

External links

* [http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech/public/content/transport/Josh_Hargraves/josh2.htm Description of the construction of the bridge]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Pons_Fabricius.html LacusCurtius: Pons Fabricius]
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* [http://www.iath.virginia.edu/rome/Journal2TaylorNew.pdf The Waters of Rome: Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome]
* [http://www.isolatiberina.it/ Tiber Island information] it icon