Pons Aemilius

Welcome to one of the most evocative and haunting ruins in all of Rome: the Pons Ae-mil-i-us, popularly known as the Pon-te Rot-to, or the Broken Bridge. As we look out over the Tiber River from the modern Ponte Palatino, we see…

The history of the Pons Ae-mil-i-us stretches back to the very foundations of the Roman Republic. Some sources suggest that an early version of the bridge may have been commissioned by the legendary general Sci-pi-o Af-ri-ca-nus…

What we see today in the surviving arch is largely the result of a significant rebuild during the reign of the Emperor Augustus in 12 before the Common Era. The Romans were masters of stone masonry, and this bridge was a showcase…

The defining moment in the bridge's long history occurred on December 24, 1598, during a catastrophic flood that remains one of the worst in Rome's history. The Tiber River rose to extraordinary levels—some records say nearly…

Connected to the bridge's decline is one of Rome's most tragic and enduring legends: the story of Beatrice Cen-ci. At the time of the 1598 flood, Beatrice was imprisoned in the cells of the Tor-re Sa-vel-la, accused of murdering…

In the nineteenth century, as Rome began its transformation into the modern capital of Italy, there were final attempts to make use of the ruins of the Pons Ae-mil-i-us. In 1853, a modern iron footbridge, or pen-si-li-na, was…

Today, the best way to appreciate the Pons Ae-mil-i-us is from the vantage point of the modern Ponte Palatino. From here, you can look down at the massive scale of the surviving arch and its central pier. …

Our exploration of the Pons Ae-mil-i-us, the Pon-te Rot-to, concludes here amidst the swirling currents of the Tiber. We have seen how this bridge, born in the ambitious early days of the Republic, became a masterpiece of…