There are thirty-two bridges spanning the River Tiber within the city of Rome, almost one every block. The finest of all is the Sant’ Angelo Bridge, built by the Emporer Hadrian, and completed in the year 135 AD, to connect the Campus Martius with his mausoleum (later renamed Castel Sant’Angelo).
It consists of seven stone arches and five main spans of about 60 feet each, supported on piers 24 feet high.
In 1688, 10 magnificent statues of angels, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, were mounted on the parapets.
The best view of the bridges and the towering buildings of Rome is from the river level which is about fifty to sixty feet below the street level.
For 10Euro one can cruise the waters of the Tiber for up to twenty four hours, getting on and off at will.
It consists of seven stone arches and five main spans of about 60 feet each, supported on piers 24 feet high.
In 1688, 10 magnificent statues of angels, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, were mounted on the parapets.
The best view of the bridges and the towering buildings of Rome is from the river level which is about fifty to sixty feet below the street level.
For 10Euro one can cruise the waters of the Tiber for up to twenty four hours, getting on and off at will.
The Tiber River has played a significant role for millennia in the development of the Roman Empire and the growth of the city of Rome. The 252-mile river is the third longest in Italy.
Besides being a crucial route for trade and commerce, it was a major supply source of water for the city. The huge blocks of stone and marble for the construction of such magnificent edifices as the Colliseum, the Pantheon and the Vatican, as well as the sculptures that graced their walls, were floated down-river on gigantic barges from the quarries of Cararra, Tuscany, north of Rome.
The Tiber has always been treated with God-like reverence by the citizens of Rome. In fact Benito Mussolini, at the height of his career, while he still had aspirations for a new Roman Empire, placed a marble column at its source in the Appenine Mountains, with an inscription that read, “Here is born the Tiber river, sacred to the destinies of Rome.”
Today the Tiber is healthy and clean and provides a wonderful amenity for water sports and family recreation.
Besides being a crucial route for trade and commerce, it was a major supply source of water for the city. The huge blocks of stone and marble for the construction of such magnificent edifices as the Colliseum, the Pantheon and the Vatican, as well as the sculptures that graced their walls, were floated down-river on gigantic barges from the quarries of Cararra, Tuscany, north of Rome.
The Tiber has always been treated with God-like reverence by the citizens of Rome. In fact Benito Mussolini, at the height of his career, while he still had aspirations for a new Roman Empire, placed a marble column at its source in the Appenine Mountains, with an inscription that read, “Here is born the Tiber river, sacred to the destinies of Rome.”
Today the Tiber is healthy and clean and provides a wonderful amenity for water sports and family recreation.
James
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