Livius Picture Archive: Rome

home : index : picture archive : Italy : Rome
	Bridge of Aelius
	Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
	A bust of the emperor Hadrian (117-138) from Seville's Museo Arqueológico. In many aspects, this Roman ruler tried to follow the example of the founder of the empire, Augustus. One of the emulations was the building of a large mausoleum near the Tiber. He was not unoriginal, however. There were striking differences between the two monuments. The most important of these was that the Mausoleum of Augustus was accessible from all sides, whereas the Mausoleum of Hadrian could only be reached by crossing the river Tiber. A satellite photo can be found here.
	The bridge was called Pons Aelius, which can be translated as "Hadrian's bridge", because the full name of the emperor was Publius Aelius Hadrianus. Because one could approach the mausoleum only by crossing the bridge, the monument looked splendidly symmetrical. For centuries, it served as the pope's castel and today, it is called the Castel Sant' Angelo. (The baroque statues of the angels were added in 1668 and were designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini.)
	Perhaps there was no need to build the Pons Aelius, because a mere 300 meters downstream, one could cross the Bridge of Nero. On the other hand, the district on the other bank of the Tiber appears to have become a popular place for burial (the apostle Peter was one of those who found his last resting place in this area) and it is possible that the capacity of the Pons Neronianus was not enough. This picture shows what the Bridge of Hadrian must have looked like from Nero's bridge.
	Hadrian's Bridge and the Bridge of Fabricius are the only bridges of Rome that have remained more or less intact for the past centuries. These piers are now almost eighteen centuries old. An inscription that was still visible in the eighth century (recorded by the "Anonymous of Einsiedeln") allows us to date the inauguration of the bridge to 134. It is unlikely that the emperor was present: he was probably in Judaea, fighting against Bar Kochba.
	During the Middle Ages, Hadrian's Bridge was the most important connection between the city of Rome and the Vatican. Over the centuries, the road bed and access ramps have been restored several times but still, the four piers and the three central arches are original.	Jona Lendering © 2005 Latest revision: 31 March 2006

home : index : Italy : Rome

Bridge of Aelius