The Ponte Cestio is one of Rome‘s oldest bridges and was built contemporaneously with the Ponte Fabricio. It connects the Lungotevere degli Anguillara (Trastevere) to the Piazza di San Bartolomeo all’Isola on the Isola Tiberina in the rione Ripa.
Ponte Cestio Rome
History and description
It was built (around 45BC) by Lucio Cestio, who was the brother of Caio Cestio, the man who had a tomb in the form of a pyramid built for himself.
Restorations took place, first in 152 and later in 370, partly with materials taken from the Theater of Marcellus. One of the emperors having ordered the work was called Graziano, which caused the bridge to get a new name (see below).
The biggest change took place between 1888 and 1892, however, when the embankments of the Tiber were widened, and as a result also the two side arches had to be widened to their present size.
The bridge is a pedestrian bridge only and has a length of 54m and a width of 8m. The Ponte Cestio has been known under many different names, such as pons Aurelius, pons Gratiani, ponte di San Bartolomeo and ponte Ferrato, the latter referring to the many iron chains that were anchored to it.