Thursday, December 28, 2017

FABRICIUS BRIDGE

PONTE FABRICIO
62 BC by Lucius Fabricius curator of the roads (curator viarum), as reported by Cassius Dio and the large inscription
The small inscription refers to an early restoration in 21 BC for the will of the consuls of that year Marcus Lollius and Quintus Lepidus, after the flood of 23 BC which had seriously damaged the bridge
It is almost intact and it has been restored several times
It is also known as PONTE QUATTRO CAPI (Four Heads Bridge) for two herms with four heads included in the balustrade or PONS JUDAEORUM (Bridge of the Jewish) for its proximity to the Jewish ghetto
It is 62 m (203 feet) long
The original coating of travertine was replaced by brick probably in 1679 when were also the parapets were remade at the behest of Pope Innocent XI Odescalchi (1676/89)
The ends of the bridge were demolished when the embankments were built at the end of the nineteenth century. They had two openings with arches similar to the central one, still intact, which were intended to ease the pressure of the water during the floods of the river
The two “Herms with four heads” inserted into the balustrades were originally probably functional to the ancient bronze balustrade

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