Il TEVERE THE TIBER. Tevere is the river of the eternal city, Rome. He was considered a kind of Deity: one of the things that it did, say a legend, was.

Il TEVERE

THE TIBER

Tevere is the river of the eternal city, Rome . He was considered a kind of Deity: one of the things that it did, say a legend , was to save Romolo and Remo, so it began important for the story of this city. When Rome grew up it was used as a waterway. It was also the reason of varius war between the Romans and other popolations because it was an important source of wealth.

The Tiber springs on Mount Fumaiolo and flows into the Tirreno Sea. It is very lon,g in fact it is the third river for length in Italy (405km), second only for extention to the Po river’s basin (17 375 km ²). The source of the Tiber is also a tourist destination. This river is also navigable and in a lot of part of it people usually fish. There are a lot of animals like nutrie, snakes, different kinds of birds and many types of fish like trouts, pikes and carps.

The Tiber is crossed by about 30 bridges. The Romans began to built these bridges since when had the possession of the left bank of the river. We can divide the bridges in 4 groups: bridges on the Tiber , on the Aniene, modern bridges and Papal bridges. The most important bridges are : Cestio’s , Fabricio’s , sant’Angelo’s , Sisto’s and Milvio’s

Since the Roman Age the river has been crossed by a lot of bridges. The oldest is the Roman bridge, built in 179 by the ancient Romans, while the newest is Marconi’s, built in 1954 and renovated recently. Rotto bridge is credited to Marco Fulvio Nobiliore and Marco Emilio Lepido. It was damaged by the river foods between 1230 and 1422. It was reconstructed by pope Giulio III but it was destroyed by the floods. So it was called Rotto (that means broken) since 1557. The most modern bridge is dedicated to Guglielmo Marconi like the street that crosses it . It is the longest bridge in Rome with its 235 m lenght.

Fabricio’s and Cestio’s bridges are the ones which connect Tiberina’s island. Cestio was built in 40 d.C by Lucio Sestio while Fabricio was built in 62 a.C. by Lucio Fabrizio. Cestio is 54 m. long, while Fabricio is 57m. In 1888 and in 1892 two arches of the Cestio bridge were demolished and built again.

Sant’Angelo’s bridge was built in 134 d.C. by the imperator Hadrian, just in front of his personal Mausoleum. It was a bridge used by the enemies to assault the castle built in Medieval times on Hadrian’s Tomb and for this reason it was destroyed many time . This bridge is also known for its statues created by Bernini on the request by Pope Clemente. Probably it is the most important and famous bridge of Rome.

In the past Tiberina Island was used for means of transport between the right bank and the left. A legend sasy that this island was built by a ship which sank and the Romans decided to built a prow in stone, in fact the island resembles boat.

Today on Tiberina Island we find a hospital and other buildings . Today it is an important destination for tourist especially during hot summer nights. On the Island there are Esculapius Temple and San Bartolomeo’s Basilica: a pagan and a Christian landmark.

Floods of the Tiber.The floods of the Tiber are important for the history of Rome. The oldest flood occured in 414 a.C. but the oldest which has a commemorative plaque is in the 1277. The tallest flood that Rome suffered was in 1598 . The last flood was in 1937. An interesting thing was that when pope Pio IX was elected and when he died (1846,1878) there were floods. In the centre of Rome there is the hydrometer in Via Ripetta, which measured the level of the water.

Muraglioni were a project of Raffaele Canevari to stem the Tiber with the high walls of travertine that we still see today. They had to be tall enough to hold a full flood- more than the one of December 28, 1870. The construction of the muraglioni lasted half a century and ended only in 1926. It changed the face of Rome, freeing Rome by the fear of floods. Still now along via Ripetta tourists can notice the signs showing the level reached by water in the 1870 flood. It reached the second floor in the houses!

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