A Tourist in Rome - Ponte Sisto
Location: | 41.89236, 12.47072 Just west of Tiber Island, at the northwest edge of Trastevere |
Metro: | Circo Massimo, or Tram 3 from Piramide, or Tram 8 from Largo di Torre Argentina |
Time: | about 10 minutes |
Cost: | Free |
Hours: | Viewable at any time |
Ponte Sisto is a pedestrian bridge over the Tiber River, built between 1473 and 1479 by order of Pope Sixtus VI, connecting the southwest edge of Campus Martius to Trastevere, just west of Tiber Island. The bridge reuses the foundations of the Pons Aurelius, an ancient bridge destroyed during the middle ages. Ponte Sisto is easily recognized by the round hole in its central pier, which is intended to reduce the river's pressure on the bridge during times of flooding, thereby preventing the river's fury from destroying the bridge. The bridge figures prominently in the Tiber River cruise scenes at the end of The Great Beauty.
The Fountain of Ponte Sisto is located on its southwestern (Trastevere) end. A very nice view of the sunset over Rome can be had from this bridge, since the Fountain of Ponte Sisto and the Big Fountain on the Janiculum Hill can be easily seen from the bridge, with the colors of sunset behind them.
See also: