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Ponte Milvio

Historic site · Parioli, Italy

The bridge that carries the old via Flaminia over the Tiber at piazzale Cardinal Consalvi, at Parioli's western corner. The Sovrintendenza Capitolina describes six arches on five piers with triangular cutwaters, a core of Grotta Oscura tuff faced in pietra sperone and travertine, and gives it as accessible to the public. Vehicle traffic was cut from 1951 and stopped altogether in 1978.

History

Livy mentions the bridge in 207 BC, when it was still timber; the censor Marcus Aemilius Scaurus rebuilt it in masonry in 110 to 109 BC. Volturcius was arrested on it during the Catilinarian conspiracy, and the battle of 312 was fought at it. Garibaldians blew the northern central arch in 1849 and Pius IX had it restored; Valadier had rebuilt the two outer arches in 1805, and Callixtus III added the square tower that carries the Borgia plaque. The habit of attaching padlocks to the bridge spread from the central lamp-post after the film Ho voglia di te; a lamp-post broke under the weight in July 2007; the Comune installed posts and chains for the purpose; and the locks were removed for good in September 2012.

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