The Ponte Nomentano (called Pons Lamentanus during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

) is a

Roman bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ke ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, which carried the

Via Nomentana Via Nomentana is an ancient road of Italy, leading North-East from Rome to Nomentum (modern Mentana), a distance of . It originally bore the name "Via Ficulensis", from the old Latin village of Ficulea, about from Rome. It was subsequently extend ...

over the

Aniene The Aniene (; la, Aniō), formerly known as the Teverone, is a river in Lazio, Italy. It originates in the Apennines at Trevi nel Lazio and flows westward past Subiaco, Vicovaro, and Tivoli to join the Tiber in northern Rome. It formed the pr ...

( la, Anio). Having lain outside the city limits for most of its history, the picturesque bridge is noted for its medieval

bridge tower A bridge tower (german: Brückenturm) was a type of fortified tower built on a bridge. They were typically built in the period up to early modern times as part of a city or town wall or castle. There is usually a tower at both ends of the brid ...

, which served to protect this important northern approach to Rome.

History

View of Nomentano Bridge by Joseph Wright of Derby

In antiquity, the Ponte Nomentano was located outside of the Aurelian Wall, at a distance of 3.9 km from the

Porta Nomentana The Porta Nomentana was one of the gates in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. It is located along viale del Policlinico, around 70 m east of Porta Pia. It is now blocked and merely a boundary wall for the British Embassy. History It was ...

. The

East Roman The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

historian

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...

records that the bridge was destroyed by the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...

under their king

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...

around 547 AD during the Gothic War, but rebuilt by the victorious Roman general

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

in 552. The still-intact late Republican fabric of the main arch, however, indicates that the bridge might have been only partially damaged in the event. The lower part of the bridge tower dates, according to an unproven tradition, from the time of

Pope Adrian I Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman. Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...

(772–795). The imposing castle-like structure was constructed during a general overhaul of the bridge by

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV, Po ...

(1447–1455), after which minor repairs followed in 1461, 1470, and 1474. A view of the bridge was painted by English artist

Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wr ...

in the 1770s. The painting was later badly overpainted, and it languished in the Derby Museum until it was rediscovered and restored in 2017, as documented by the television series ''

Britain's Lost Masterpieces ''Britain's Lost Masterpieces'' is a factual BBC Four documentary television series that aims to uncover overlooked art treasures in British public collections, in conjunction with Art UK. It is presented by Bendor Grosvenor, along with art his ...

'' (series 2, episode 2). In 1849, French troops cut the bridge by 7 m to check

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

's advance on Rome, but it was soon restored. Today, the bridge is surrounded by a park, well within the municipal limits of Rome, and restricted to pedestrians.

Structure

The 31.30-meter-long superstructure of the Ponte Nomentano has, in essence, preserved its medieval character, while the dimensions of the bridge, which measure 60 m in overall length and 7.35 m in width, have remained practically unchanged since antiquity. The 15-meter-wide central arch clearly dates back to ancient times, it is presumed from the late Republic or early Augustan

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

, as indicated by its semi-circular shape and the execution of the

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

stonework. Apart from this, only some further layers of travertine in the retaining walls can be assigned with certainty to the Roman period. The two lateral brick arches were built in the reign of

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...

(1644–1655) in lieu of stone vaults. Further examples for fortified bridges across the Aniene include the Roman

Ponte Salario The Ponte Salario, also called Ponte Salaro during the Middle Ages, is a road bridge in Rome, Italy, whose origins date back to the Roman period. In antiquity, it lay outside the city limits, 3 km north of the Porta Collina, at the point whe ...

and

Ponte Mammolo Ponte, a word meaning ''bridge'' in Italian, Portuguese, and Galician languages, may refer to: Places England *Pontefract, a town in the Metropolitan City of Wakefield France *Ponte Leccia, a civil parish (hameau) in the department of Haute-Cor ...

and the medieval

Ponte di San Francesco The Ponte di San Francesco (Italian for ''Bridge of Saint Francis'') is a medieval segmental arch bridge over the Aniene in Subiaco, Lazio, Italy. Constructed in 1358, its single span measures . Other notable historic bridges crossing the Aniene ...

in Subiaco.

Gallery

File:View of the Ponte Nomentano-1837-Pierre-Nicolas Brisset.jpg, File:Ponte Nomentano, Rome, Italy. Pic 01.jpg, File:Ponte nomentano 1.jpg, File:Ponte Nomentano 00229.JPG,

References

Sources

* *

External links