Pons Aemilius
Remaining arch of the Pons Aemilius located in midstream
Official name	Ponte Rotto
Carries	Connection Forum Boarium-Trastevere
Crosses	Tiber
Locale	Rome, Italy
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Stone
Number of spans	Originally 7
Completion date	142 BC (Stone bridge)
Ponte Rotto around 1880, painted by Ettore Roesler Franz

The Pons Aemilius (Italian: Ponte Emilio), today called Ponte Rotto, is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome, Italy. Preceded by a wooden version, it was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century BC. Once spanning the Tiber,connecting the Forum Boarium with Trastevere, a single arch in mid-river is all that remains today, lending the bridge the name Ponte rotto ('Broken bridge').

The oldest piers of the bridge were probably laid when the Via Aurelia was constructed in the mid-3rd century BC. ^[1] Initially constructed in 179 BC with stone piers and a wooden superstructure, the bridge was fitted in 142 BC with six wholly stone arches. In 12 BC, Augustus completely restored the bridge with a tuff and concrete core.

Damaged and repaired in several occasions, the bridge was defunct by 1598, when its eastern half was carried away in a flood. The remaining half was demolished in the 1880s, leaving behind only one arch.

[edit] See also

• List of Roman bridges
• Roman architecture
• Roman engineering

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• O’Connor, Colin (1993), Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp. 67f., ISBN 0-521-39326-4 

[edit] External links

• Media related to Ponte Rotto at Wikimedia Commons
• Pons Aemilius in the Structurae database
• The Waters of Rome: Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome

v • d • e Ancient Bridges on the Tiber (from up- to downstream) Upstream: Milvius (Molle)  · Ælius (Sant'Angelo)  · Neronianus†  · Agrippae (Sisto)  · Aurelius† After the Island: Fabricius  · Cestius  · Æmilius (Rotto)†  · Sublicius†  · Probi† †: partly or wholly underwater or demolished  · Names are in the original Latin; in parentheses are the Italian names that differ significantly

v • d • e Roman bridges Germany Caesar's Rhine bridges  · Römerbrücke (Trier) France Pont Ambroix  · Pont de Bornègre  · Pont Flavien  · Pont du Gard  · Pont Julien  · Pont sur la Laye  · Pont des Marchands  · Pont Serme  · Roman Bridge (Saint-Thibéry)  · Roman Bridge (Vaison-la-Romaine) Italy Pons Aemilius  · Ponte Altinate  · Pons Cestius  · Pons Fabricius  · Pons Sublicius  · Pont d'Aël  · Pont de Pierre (Aosta)  · Pont-Saint-Martin  · Ponte d'Augusto (Rimini)  · Ponte Corvo  · Ponte del Gran Caso  · Ponte Milvio  · Ponte Molino (Padua)  · Ponte Nomentano  · Ponte Pietra (Verona)  · Ponte di Pioraco  · Ponte di Quintodecimo  · Ponte Salario  · Ponte San Lorenzo  · Ponte Sant'Angelo Portugal Ponte de Rubiães  · Ponte São João  · Roman Bridge (Chaves) Spain Acueducto de los Milagros  · Alcántara Bridge  · Alconétar Bridge  · Aqüeducte de les Ferreres · Puente Romano (Mérida)  · Segovia Aqueduct Bridge Syria Bridge at Nimreh  · Gemarrin Bridge  · Kharaba Bridge Turkey Aesepus Bridge  · Arapsu Bridge  · Bridge at Oinoanda  · Constantine's Bridge (Mysia)  · Eurymedon Bridge (Aspendos)  · Eurymedon Bridge (Selge)  · Karamagara Bridge  · Kemer Bridge  · Limyra Bridge  · Makestos Bridge  · Nysa Bridge  · Penkalas Bridge  · Pergamon Bridge  · Sangarius Bridge  · Severan Bridge  · Stone Bridge (Adana)  · Valens Aqueduct Bridge  · White Bridge (Mysia) Other countries Chesters Bridge  · Constantine's Bridge (Danube)  · Leontes Bridge  · Piercebridge Roman Bridge  · Trajan's Bridge Full list of Roman bridges

Coordinates: 41°53′22″N 12°28′46″E / 41.88944°N 12.47944°E / 41.88944; 12.47944