Curious And Unusual - The Tiber Island

	~ Curious And Unusual ~ - 6 - The Tiber Island

As the Tiber crosses Rome's historical centre, it draws a double bend; almost at its end is a small island, named after the river, whose length is about 300 m (330 yards), and about 80 m (100 yards) in width. It has the typical shape of a vessel; this inspired a legend, according to which the island is located on the site of a sunken ship.

view of the Tiber Island from its western end	A more popular version, known since the early times, says that when the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was upthrown in 509 BC, the people tried to destroy his enormous stash of crops by throwing them into the Tiber. But the amount was so great that it formed a small island. Then, some time later, during a plague, a ship was sent to Epidaurus, in Greece, to visit the temple of Aesculapius, the god of medicine. One of the snakes sacred to the god was taken back to Rome, and when the ship reached this spot, the snake jumped onto the island, which was ever since dedicated to Aesculapius and to medical practice.

view of the Tiber Island from its western end

A more popular version, known since the early times, says that when the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was upthrown in 509 BC, the people tried to destroy his enormous stash of crops by throwing them into the Tiber. But the amount was so great that it formed a small island.
Then, some time later, during a plague, a ship was sent to Epidaurus, in Greece, to visit the temple of Aesculapius, the god of medicine. One of the snakes sacred to the god was taken back to Rome, and when the ship reached this spot, the snake jumped onto the island, which was ever since dedicated to Aesculapius and to medical practice.

For this reason, a temple sacred to Aesculapius was built there, and the island itself was arranged as a ship. Its sides were entirely lined with travertine marble, so to resemble the prow and stern of a vessel, featuring reliefs related to the god. An obelisk was stood in the centre, facing the temple, representing the ship's mast. It is still uncertain when these changes took place, likely around the 3rd century BC.		(↑ above) an aerial view of the Tiber Island; (right →) the island in E. du Perac's map

the few remains of the original facing	the snake jumping from the ship onto the island (top right), by the reclining allegory of the river Tiber, in a 2nd century medal		Today we only have a vague idea of what the island might have looked like. The 16th century artist and cartographer Étienne du Perac drew a map of ancient Rome in which the Tiber Island is imagined as shown above; this is obviously a fantasy reconstruction.

Today only small fragments of the original facing are still visible by the southern end of the island, while nothing is left of the temple, nor of the obelisk. The island is connected to the mainland by means of two ancient bridges of Roman age. In fact, it was originally called insula inter duos pontes ("the island between the two bridges"). On the western side, Cestius Bridge (picture on the right) joins the island to Trastevere district. It was built in the second half of the 1st century BC (the precise year is unknown), and named after Lucius Cestius, a city administrator; his brother Gaius Cestius is better known, for having been buried in the famous pyramid by St.Paul's Gate.	Cestius Bridge

Today only small fragments of the original facing are still visible by the southern end of the island, while nothing is left of the temple, nor of the obelisk.

The island is connected to the mainland by means of two ancient bridges of Roman age. In fact, it was originally called insula inter duos pontes ("the island between the two bridges").
On the western side, Cestius Bridge (picture on the right) joins the island to Trastevere district. It was built in the second half of the 1st century BC (the precise year is unknown), and named after Lucius Cestius, a city administrator; his brother Gaius Cestius is better known, for having been buried in the famous pyramid by St.Paul's Gate.

Cestius Bridge

Midway along the bridge, on its northern side, two ancient inscriptions remember restoration works. The larger and older one, rather faint, mentions the works commissioned in 370 by two emperors, brothers Valens and Valentinian I and by the latter's son Gratian, whose name was then given to the bridge (as can be read in the last words of the inscription), up to the late 1800s.
The smaller plaque, much simpler and rougher, dates back to the late 12th century and mentions a restoration by one of Rome's senators, i.e. the city's administrators in those days, simply referred to as Benedictus, identified as Benedetto Carushomo (or Carissimi), in charge from 1191 to 1193.

the plaque that remembers senator Benedictus	After having been damaged by floods several other times, in 1849 the bridge was deliberately broken by general Garibaldi's men, for defensive purposes, during the siege of Rome set by the French troops. the shape of Cestius Bridge: how it used to be (↑ above) and how it is today (↓ below)

At the end of the same century it was completely rebuilt (1888-92); the original fragments were used, but the shape of the bridge was modified, in order to fit the new protective walls along the sides of the river (see also page 3 in this section): its two sloping ends were partly straightened, and the two arches on which they rested were enlarged, so to match the size of the central one. This alteration had also the purpose of letting the water flow more easily than before, thus reducing the risk of further floods. On this occasion, Gratian Bridge was renamed again Cestius Bridge.

On the eastern side of the island, Fabricius Bridge leads towards the mainland of Ripa, the same district whom the island belongs to. It was built in 62 BC, thus slightly earlier than Cestius Bridge, what makes it the oldest among the historical bridges extant within the urban boundaries, and second among all only to Milvius Bridge, which was once located outside the city, 2.5 km or 1.5 mi off the northernmost gate of the city walls. Lucius Fabricius was a city officer in charge for the streets (curator viarum); his name is carved in large letters on the white frame of the bridge's arches. Names of two consuls in smaller letters (Marcus Lollius and Quintus Lepidus) were added on the occasion of the bridge's first restoration works, in 21 BC. As of the mid 1500s, after the making of the Jewish Ghetto, which started on the very spot where the bridge reaches the mainland, it was also called Bridge of the Jews.	Fabricius Bridge

On the eastern side of the island, Fabricius Bridge leads towards the mainland of Ripa, the same district whom the island belongs to. It was built in 62 BC, thus slightly earlier than Cestius Bridge, what makes it the oldest among the historical bridges extant within the urban boundaries, and second among all only to Milvius Bridge, which was once located outside the city, 2.5 km or 1.5 mi off the northernmost gate of the city walls.
Lucius Fabricius was a city officer in charge for the streets (curator viarum); his name is carved in large letters on the white frame of the bridge's arches. Names of two consuls in smaller letters (Marcus Lollius and Quintus Lepidus) were added on the occasion of the bridge's first restoration works, in 21 BC.
As of the mid 1500s, after the making of the Jewish Ghetto, which started on the very spot where the bridge reaches the mainland, it was also called Bridge of the Jews.

Fabricius Bridge

But the locals call this bridge more often Ponte Quattro Capi ("Four Heads Bridge"), as on each side a four-headed figure rests on the baluster. These are ancient Roman carvings, but they do not belong to the original structure; they were set here in the late 1500s, by pope Sixtus V, on the occasion of restoration works.

According to a popular legend, the heads are those of the four architects whom the pope had entrusted with the restoration of the bridge.

The architects though, were in disagreement, and kept quarrelling. Sixtus V, irritated by their shameful behaviour, had them beheaded. But since the bridge had been restored properly, he gave them credit for the work by having their portraits set there. ← one of the four-headed figures	Ť LUCIUS FABRICIUS, SON OF CAIUS, ROAD SUPERVISOR CARED FOR THE MAKING [of the bridge] ť

The branch of the river that runs below Fabricius Bridge is rather shallow; when the making of the protective walls and other works were discussed by Rome's administrators (1871-75), somebody even suggested to fill the river bed on this side, letting the Tiber free to flow only below Cestius Bridge: this would have caused the island to disappear, as it would have been joined to the river's eastern bank. Luckily, this project was disregarded.

The island's ancient medical tradition, related to the cult of Aesculapius, never died out in time. In the early Middle Ages, when the temple had already collapsed, the Tiber Island became the site of a hospice, run by monks, where the sick people could be treated. This popular institution slowly grew into a real medical establishment, the Fatebenefratelli Hospital, founded in 1584, still active today. Instead, the other half of the island is mainly occupied by a small square, closed at one end by a church dedicated to St.Bartholomew, the apostle whose remains are kept below the main altar. It was founded in the 10th century, when it was built over the ruins of the ancient Temple of Aesculapius. Although it was rebuilt in 1624 after having been seriously damaged by a flood in the mid 1500s, it maintained its original Romanesque belltower. Under its porch, a small plaque indicates the water level of the very last flood remembered in Rome, dated December 17, 1937.	St.Bartholomew's church, with the pillar in the foreground

The island's ancient medical tradition, related to the cult of Aesculapius, never died out in time. In the early Middle Ages, when the temple had already collapsed, the Tiber Island became the site of a hospice, run by monks, where the sick people could be treated. This popular institution slowly grew into a real medical establishment, the Fatebenefratelli Hospital, founded in 1584, still active today.
Instead, the other half of the island is mainly occupied by a small square, closed at one end by a church dedicated to St.Bartholomew, the apostle whose remains are kept below the main altar. It was founded in the 10th century, when it was built over the ruins of the ancient Temple of Aesculapius. Although it was rebuilt in 1624 after having been seriously damaged by a flood in the mid 1500s, it maintained its original Romanesque belltower. Under its porch, a small plaque indicates the water level of the very last flood remembered in Rome, dated December 17, 1937.

St.Bartholomew's church, with the pillar in the foreground

In the centre of the square stands a four-sided pillar, dating back to the second half of the 1800s, with the statues of St.Bartholomew, St.Francis of Assisi, St.Paulinus of Nola (popularly credited for having invented the church bell) and St.John of God (a Spanish saint, founder of the Brothers Hospitallers Order, also known as the Fatebenefratelli i.e. Do-good Brothers).
Sometime during the early Middle Ages the obelisk, which had already collapsed, was replaced with a column topped by a Christian cross, symbolically representing the triumph of Christianity upon the ancient pagan civilization. The column faced St.Bartholomew's church in the same way as the obelisk once used to face the temple; up to the mid 19th century, on August 24, a list of names of those who had not complied with the Easter Precept (i.e. a yearly compulsory confession and Holy Communion, taken at Easter time) was hung to the column, to be frowned upon by everybody.
Then, in 1867, a carriage crashed into it, damaging it in such degree that Pius IX preferred to have it removed and replaced with the aforesaid pillar.

Also during the Middle Ages, the powerful Caetani family built a fortified house in the central part of the island; but what can be seen of it today are only the remains of its tower, located at the very end of Fabricius Bridge. It is also called the Maid's Tower after a fragment of ancient Roman age, a small head featuring a young woman, which hangs on the side of the building facing the aforesaid bridge.

Opposite the tower stands the church of St.John Calybite, of very ancient origin, although the present building dates back to the 17th-18th centuries. An image of the 1200s, known as the Madonna of the Lantern, that once hung by the riverside, is kept inside the church; it is credited with a prodigy said to have taken place in 1557 when, during one of the frequent floods, the flame of a lantern by the image kept burning, despite being submerged by the water. A copy of this image can be seen at the base of the belltower.

(↑ above) the House of the Caetani and
(← left) the small head known as 'the Maid'

A flight of steps leads down to the river level, where in the early 1900s the wide bank was built, acting as a walkable platform that runs all around the island. Here the locals and tourists alike like to stroll, to sunbathe and, especially during the summer, to attend cultural events such as film festivals, concerts, etc. The bank also makes an excellent viewpoint for taking a close look at the old bridges from below.

Just further south along the river's course, following the island, is another interesting feature: the so-called Ponte Rotto (Broken Bridge), whose story is described in depth in There Once Was In Rome... section.

southern view of the island