A Tourist in Rome - Ponte Cestio
Location: | 41.89003, 12.47727 The bridge between Tiber Island and Trastevere to its southwest |
Metro: | Circo Massimo and Bus #160, or see it on my To the Forum Boarium and Beyond Walking Tour instead |
Time: | about 10 minutes |
Cost: | Free |
Hours: | Viewable at any time |
Ponte Cestio, or Pons Cestius is a Roman stone bridge which spans the Tiber River from Tiber Island southwest to Trastevere. It was built between 62 and 27 BC, after the Ponte Fabrico was built, which spans from Tiber Island northeast to central Rome. In the 4th century the bridge was rebuilt using tuff and peperino, with a facing of travertine. Some of that travertine came from the demolished portico of the Theatre of Marcellus. When the walls along the river were built in 1888-1892, the bridge was demolished and rebuilt, since the channel it spans was widened from 157 to 260 feet. The central arch of the new bridge reused about one third of the material from the original bridge.
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