Milvian bridge
Coordinates: 41 ° 56 ′ 8 ″ N , 12 ° 28 ′ 1 ″ E
| Milvian Bridge (Ponte Milvio) |
||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Official name | Ponte Milvio | |
| Convicted | Via Flaminia | |
| Crossing of | Tiber | |
| place | Rome ( Italy ) | |
| construction | Arch bridge with vaulted vaults | |
| overall length | 136 m | |
| width | 8.75 m | |
| Number of openings | 6th | |
| Clear width | Max. 18.55 m | |
| completion | 109 BC BC (stone pier bridge) | |
| location | ||
|
||
 |
||
The Milvian Bridge (Italian: Ponte Milvio , formerly Ponte Molle or Mollo , Latin: Pons Milvius , also Mulvius ) is a bridge that goes back to antiquity and spans the Tiber in Rome . It is located in a straight extension of Via Flaminia from the Roman Forum and Piazza del Popolo in northern Rome. The bridge is known for the battle of the Milvian Bridge that took place there in 312 . For centuries, the bridge was the main entrance to the Roman metropolis for travelers from the north. This task is now taken over by the Ponte Flaminio, completed in 1951. The Ponte Milvio is closed to car traffic today.
history
The bridge was built in 207 BC. BC as a wooden bridge with the name Pons Milvius , as the first builder belonged to the gens Milvia . The censor Marcus Aemilius Scaurus renewed the bridge from 115 to 109 BC. BC, already with massive pillars and again with a wooden superstructure. Tuff and travertine were used as building materials to clad the arches. The massive pillars that can still be seen today date from this time.
The Pons Milvius is mentioned several times by ancient writers such as Marcus Tullius Cicero , Titus Livius , Tacitus and Ammianus Marcellinus . Cicero reports how Catulus and Pompey fought there with Lepidus . 63 BC The conspirators of Catiline were arrested there.
In the year of his 7th consulate, Augustus had all the bridges of the Via Flaminia put in order. Cassius Dio reports that at that time there was an arch on the bridge with the statue of Augustus and another with a quadriga. 16 BC BC coins were minted with the image of the bridge.
In 312 AD the battle between Emperor Constantine and his co-emperor Maxentius ended at the bridge and so Emperor Constantine went to Rome.
In 538 Witichis fled with his Goths across the bridge. 799 returned Pope Leo III. back from Franconia, where he had visited Charlemagne. The following year he traveled to Rome to be crowned emperor. In 823 Lothar I and in 896 Arnulf of Carinthia crossed the bridge and received their imperial anointings in St. Peter's Basilica , where the greetings took place at the bridge.
In 1121 Pope Kalixt II passed the bridge together with his prisoner, the antipope Gregory VIII, amid the shouts of the Romans.
In 1149 the bridge was extensively restored. 1152 in a letter from the Roman Senate to Conrad III. :
- “… You should also know that we are working hard to restore the bridge, which is barely far outside the city and which was destroyed for a long time due to opposition from emperors, so that your army can cross over it and you the lions of Peter through the Castel Sant'Angelo can not do harm, as they did with Pope Eugene III. and the Sicilian Roger II . In a short time the work is completed with an extremely strong wall and hard stones with God's help. "
The Milvian Bridge was brought back into perfect condition. Everyone had to contribute to moving in and moving out through gifts / donations as well as tribute .
In 1312 King Henry VII tried to cross the bridge, but because of the resistance of hostile troops he could not get to St. Peter and therefore had to withdraw again. 1335 during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XII. (Pope 1334–1342) written down in the Vatican Codex: "Milvian Bridge despotic destroyed by the retinue of the cruel Orsini ..."
In 1405 Pope Innocent VII transferred all Tiber bridges with the exception of the Ponte Milvio to the city administration of Rome, as he did not trust the city fathers to maintain and secure this famous bridge. He set up his own guards at the bridge towers especially for this purpose. That was of no use, because the Ghibellini from Rome still damaged the bridge considerably.
In 1429 Pope Martin V commissioned the architect Francesco Genazzano to repair the bridge. In 1451 and 1458 it was by Nikolaus V and Kalixt III. comprehensively renewed. The wooden bridge deck was replaced by a stone deck and the north tower was replaced by a mighty tower with an entrance arch.
Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti (1800–1823) commissioned the architect Giuseppe Valadier to change the design of the bridge. Until then, the two wooden bridges near the shore were only made of wood as protection against frequent military attacks, so that they could be destroyed in case of danger. These wooden bridges near the shore have now been replaced by stone arches.
In 1849 it was partially destroyed by Garibaldi to oppose the French attack and later by Pope Pius IX. Feretti (1846–1878) renewed by Franzesco Azzurri.
The last armed conflicts at the bridge ended with the Second World War . She handled the traffic with heavy armored vehicles.
In 1951 the nearby Ponte Flaminio was opened to traffic, the Ponte Milvio now serves as a pedestrian bridge.
description
The Tiber is 124 m wide at the location of the bridge and is spanned by 6 arches, the clear openings of about 9 and 18 m (exactly: 7.25 m; 17.90 m; 18.40 m; 18.55 m; 17 , 85 m; 9.30 m).
The bridge is 136 m long and 8.75 m wide. Of the four central arches, two are originally Roman and two are partially antique. Arches two and three are clad in light Roman travertine . The four central arches have a clear opening of approx. 18 m, while the end openings are 9 m wide. These had wooden superstructures and have only recently been replaced with brick vaults.
The travertine cladding is solidly built in the area of the low water with runners and girders alternating in bond, while in the upper area there is only one row of stones. Vaults two and three are from antiquity from 109 BC. Attributed to Chr. Vault four consists entirely of bricks, vault five only has masonry in the upper area. This can be attributed to the repair work from the time of Nicholas V in 1458.
There are flood openings of different dimensions in the pillars.
Archaeological research
Extensive restoration work is being carried out in modern times. In doing so, it was investigated which components of the bridge can definitely be ascribed to Roman antiquity.
Even from the constructions from the year 115 BC At that time only the pillars and foundations are made of stone, ancient remains remain. Going from south to north, there are plenty of remains of the first pillar and remains of the second pillar, as well as remains of the rising cantilever arch.
The first two arches in the river are completely preserved, as are the pillars on which the vaults rest, as well as parts of the gable walls of the lateral masonry above the vaulted vaults. The third arch can only partly be ascribed to Roman times. The inner core of the pillars is made of tufa from the Oscura and Aniene quarries . The pillar porches, all corners and edges as well as the vaults of the first two arches in the river are made of Roman travertine .
Whether travertine was used for the first time on a Tiber bridge in Rome is a matter of dispute among experts. An elastic lime adhesive layer has been installed between the tuff blocks and those made of travertine to prevent excessive friction from occurring.
With the exception of the first and fourth pillars, all others have a cross-section of 8.0 / 8.0 m. Exactly: Width: 7.24 m to 7.47 m; Depth 7.56 m to 7.71 m. The first and fourth pillars are 10 m wide.
In order to check the state of construction, the upper edge of the vault was exposed. The wear and tear of the tops shows how these have been used as trails on the sides. The vaults were created in a bond with changing wedge widths. The outside of the vaults are made of travertine in a bond with different widths. Vaulted stones of inferior quality can be seen on the inside. Wedge stones in travertine and tuff alternate on the inner surface of the vault.
Curiosities
For some time it has been the custom of young lovers to attach a padlock ( love lock ) to the central lantern of the Milvian Bridge and then to throw the key with the oath “forever” (per semper) into the Tiber. For those in love this means that their love will prove unbreakable in the future. The attached padlock is also provided with the couple's first names or initials and the date of their marriage.
This custom was probably initiated by the graduates of the San Giorgio Medical School in Florence, who after completing their training attached the padlocks of their lockers to the bridge lantern. This custom was then adopted by those in love in Rome. This tradition gained particular popularity after the publication of the book I stand on you by Federico Moccia . The tale's two main characters swear eternal love as they padlock the central bridge lantern and toss the key into the river. The Lucchetti d'Amore ("love locks") also gained further notoriety through the music video by Tiziano Ferro for the single Ti scatteró una foto .
After long discussions about a possible removal of the locks due to a “disfigurement of the bridge” and since a bridge lantern buckled under the weight of the locks in 2006, the city of Rome reacted and set up posts with chains in front of each of the six lanterns to which the locks are now attached may be. However, these were also removed on September 10, 2012 and may now be taken to a museum.
The custom is also maintained at the Old Bridge ( Ponte Vecchio ) in Florence, where the padlocks are attached to the lattice of the monument by Benvenuto Cellini . The Florentine Public Order Office is currently punishing this behavior with a fine of 50 euros.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe mentioned the bridge in his later years, looking back on his stay in Italy. A contemporary describes his nostalgia as follows: “Suddenly he stopped pensively in front of that image of Rome and pointed to Ponte Molle, over which, coming from the north, one enters the eternal Roma. 'I can confess to you', he said, - 'since I drove home over the Ponte Molle, I haven't had a purely happy day' ".
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ La Repubblica in May 2006
- ^ La Repubblica on September 10, 2012, accessed on September 10, 2012
