Ponte di Tiberio, Ponte di Tiberio, 47921 Rimini RN, Italy
Ariminum (modern Rimini) was founded as an ancient Roman colony in 268 BC, when the Roman Senate sent 6,000 settlers to the banks of the Ariminus River (Marecchia). Construction of the bridge began during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus in AD 14 and was completed under his successor, Augustus’ adopted son Tiberius, in AD 21. It crosses the port canal Marecchia at the southern end of two Roman roads, Via Aemilia and Via Popilia. The bridge was built to demonstrate the impressive power of the empire through monumental infrastructure, emphasized by its religious-theological decorative design, and is the oldest surviving Roman bridge decorated with Greek orders, although its lower part is typical of Republican or Etruscan architecture, indicating a mixed style of a provincial architect. The religious-theological decorations of the bridge were intended to give its crossing the character of a sacred ritual. The bridge is slightly curved. Due to military history, the part of the bridge facing San Giuliano is less well preserved. The stone blocks of the bridge are not from local quarries and were probably delivered by sea. The outer cladding is made of white limestone from the Roman quarry in Aurisina, known as Istrian stone. The stones were laid using iron clamps to minimize gaps between them and were poured with lead.
The bridge has five semicircular arches in the Doric style, made of white Istrian stone, with spans of about 8 meters. The piers widen at the base and rest on isolated wooden platforms supported by oak piles about 35 cm in diameter and 3 to 5 meters long. These piles hardened over time.
The keystones of each arch are decorated with reliefs. On the central arch are depicted a crown and shield — symbols of Augustus. According to Cesare Clementini, on both sides of the bridge at its city end stood two colossal statues.
The bridge is located at the southern end of two Roman roads: Via Aemilia, which runs northwest to Placentia (Piacenza), and Via Popilia, which runs north along the Adriatic coast to Atria (Adria), where it connected with Via Annia. The Tiberius Bridge crossed the Ariminus, known for its turbulent character, and connected the end of the decumanus maximus of Ariminum (modern Corso d’Augusto) on the right bank of the Ariminus with the modern Borgo San Giuliano on the left bank of the river. Given this strategic location, the Tiberius Bridge apparently replaced an earlier, most likely wooden, bridge; excavations and maps show that it was probably located about 500 meters upstream.
The bridge was the last major project of Augustus in Ariminum, which included the construction of the Arch of Augustus, reconstruction of Via Flaminia and Via Aemilia, and the renaming of the colony to Colonia Augusta Ariminensis. Until the 19th century, the bridge was called the Bridge of Augustus (Ponte d’Augusto); only recently has it been called the Bridge of Tiberius (Ponte di Tiberio). The bridge may have adjoined the ancient Roman port. An underwater wall on the right bank of the river crosses the bridge, and local historian Giovanni Rimondini suggested that these could have been support structures of the port. The wall was discovered during riverbed reinforcement works in the 1970s but was not photographed or studied before being covered with concrete. Other scholars believe the wall was built much later.
In 552, the bridge was threatened with capture by the advancing Byzantine army under General Narses, moving from Ravenna toward Rome. Byzantine historian Procopius writes that in June 552, to prevent the advance of Narses’ army, the Gothic commander Usdrila destroyed the bridge over the Marecchia in Rimini; the bridge could be “crossed... barely and with difficulty by a single unarmed man on foot.” It is unclear to what extent and how the bridge was damaged. In his translation of Procopius, Claude Maltret suggests that both sides of the bridge (utroque latere) were damaged, while Filippo Battallini assumed that only the last arch toward Borgo San Giuliano was destroyed. In the subsequent battle, Usdrila was killed, and Narses crossed Rimini using a fleet of ships following his army along the Adriatic coast.
In the Middle Ages, on the San Giuliano side of the bridge, to the left of the bridge exit, there was a tower. The tower is first mentioned in a papal bull of Pope Gregory VII in 1078. In 1617, Cesare Clementini wrote that the tower was built in 1473 but no longer existed. From the second half of the 14th century, the bridge was filled with wooden stalls of merchants during the annual Feast of Saint Julian. On the city side, the bridge led to narrow city gates known as Porta Bologna; the gate was destroyed by the time the Rimini ring road opened in 1829. The bridge, along with the Arch of Augustus, began to be used in the city’s symbols and seals sometime between the 10th and 13th centuries.
Georg Braun’s 1572 map of Rimini, depicting the Ponte d’Augusto over the Marecchia
In January 1528, the bridge survived a fire set by Pandolfo IV, the last of the Malatesta rulers in Rimini. According to Clementini, during his final retreat, Pandolfo set fire to the last arch before Borgo San Giuliano. Although he intended to destroy other arches, he was promised by Odet de Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, that his troops would enter Rimini through another gate. Pandolfo reoccupied the city from June 14, 1527, remaining until the Papal States’ troops lifted the siege on June 17, 1528. Stones from the collapsed arch were later excavated in 1680, 1807, and the 1970s. Inscriptions testify that the bridge underwent restoration in 1582, 1592, and 1603. At a Rimini municipal council meeting on August 4, 1612, it was noted that the last arch was “so damaged that those looking from below see air and sky”; it was further damaged by an earthquake in 1672. As a temporary measure, possibly an embankment or wooden platform was installed to reinforce the last arch of the bridge to prevent its complete collapse. In 1680, under the direction of amateur architect from Ferrara Agostino Martinelli, the last arch was restored using similar materials from the Ponte di San Vito, a destroyed bridge built around the same time and located seven Roman miles along Via Aemilia, and new stone blocks brought from Venice.
Some suggested restoring the arch with bricks. In his book, Martinelli disputed that Pandolfo IV set fire to the last arch: the damage to the bridge was not typical of fire, and the arch on the city side showed similar destruction. Therefore, Martinelli suggested that the damage was caused by natural wear or by locals dismantling parts of the bridge.
From the late 1920s until 1931, the Marecchia River was redirected further north. During the Battle of Rimini in World War II, the last retreating German troops were ordered to blow up the bridge, but they did not. Marshal Willy Träger of the 2nd Parachute Division reported to his command that “the bridge was blown up,” although according to Träger himself, several attempts to blow up the bridge failed, and the damage was minimal. Träger used poor-quality ammonal: 100 kg was placed at the base of the bridge and 160 kg in eight charges under the road surface. Only two charges exploded, which Träger explained by crossed wires along the bridge’s drainage, causing only minor explosions. The ammonal was likely dampened by rain. Colonel Horst Pretzel and Lieutenant Colonel Rudolf Renneke later stated that the German high command ordered the bridge to be spared, although this order was not passed on to the retreating troops. In any case, after heavy rain during the night retreat of September 20–21, 1944, the Marecchia River overflowed its banks. Träger’s version was accepted by the German command. According to postwar testimony of one soldier involved in the demolition, poor wire connections were deliberately made by Träger, who also refused to carry out the order to demolish the Arch of Augustus. The Ponte di Tiberio became the only bridge over the Marecchia River not destroyed during the German retreat. On January 29, 1957, during repair work on the bridge, unexploded ammonal charges were found, and the bridge was temporarily closed for their safe removal. The next day, the closure was reported by Amedeo Montemaggi, editor of the newspaper Il Resto del Carlino, who in subsequent years reconstructed the events related to Träger’s decisions. In 1981, Träger’s widow was invited to Rimini by the local municipality.
In the 1970s, reconstruction work on the port canal was carried out under the direction of Vittoriano Viganò. As part of these activities, the gravel around the bridge was removed, and the piles at the base of the piers were encased in concrete. The removed gravel was nearly 3 meters deep. In 1973, gravel under the bridge was removed, exposing the piles, which were then encased in concrete. The piles were boat-shaped, with the bow facing upstream and a rounded stern, preventing the formation of vortices that could threaten the stability of the bridge.
In 2008, the municipal administration of Alberto Ravaglioli began studying the possibility of making the bridge pedestrian-only. At that time, 10,500 cars crossed the bridge daily. Initially, it was proposed to build a bypass tunnel, but this plan was rejected in June 2015. In 2016, an archaeological park was opened near the bridge, where 155 stones that were once part of the bridge were collected. The park tells the story of the bridge, its materials, and ancient Roman construction techniques. The stones were discovered during river works from 1989 to 1991 and remained on the shore until cataloged in 2005. Most stones date back to the Roman era, but some bear traces of later periods, possibly related to restorations.
In 2017–2018, a small public square with a view of the water near the bridge was reorganized. Since 2019, traffic on the bridge has been gradually restricted, and in May 2020 it became fully pedestrian. In 2021, the bridge’s two-thousandth anniversary was celebrated.
The bridge is associated with the legend of the “Devil’s Bridge” (Italian: Ponte del diavolo), a popular name for the bridge due to two indentations resembling devil’s hoof or horn marks on its upper parapet. The indentations were probably used to secure blocks for lifting materials from boats under the bridge. One version of the legend tells that during construction, the bridge kept collapsing. Then Tiberius, having received no support from the gods, turned to the devil for help. The devil agreed but demanded the soul of the first to cross the bridge. The devil built the bridge overnight, and Tiberius, deceiving him, sent a dog across the bridge first. Realizing the trick, the devil flew into a rage and struck the bridge in an attempt to destroy it but could only leave marks, as he had built it so well.
In another version, Jupiter told Tiberius that the best boulders for the bridge could be found in Perticara, but only the devil could transport them to Rimini, who built the bridge in exchange for the first soul crossing it. Jupiter, sending a dog across the bridge first, angered the devil, who left the last stone in Perticara, known as the “Devil’s Stone” (Sasso del Diavolo). In yet another version, instead of a soul, the devil was promised “anmu,” which at that time could mean either soul (anima) or cheese, which was eventually transported over the bridge.
Together with the Arch of Augustus, Ponte di Tiberio is considered one of the defining symbols of Rimini, appearing on its official seals and coats of arms since the Middle Ages. In the Tempio Malatestiano there is a commemorative plaque created by Agostino di Ducci, which depicts a stylized image of the bridge. The local diocesan newspaper of Rimini, Il Ponte, took its name from the bridge.
Due to its location between the center of Rimini and the Monumental Cemetery of Rimini, Ponte di Tiberio became part of the route of many famous funeral processions in Rimini, including those of Anacleto Ricci, a scout who died in the fire that engulfed the Grand Hotel Rimini in 1920, the first victims of World War II in 1940, and film director Federico Fellini in 1993.
In 2014, the governments of Italy and San Marino, neighboring Rimini, celebrated the two-thousandth anniversary of the bridge. On May 2, the Italian Institute of Philately and State Mint issued two million postage stamps, designed by Rita Fantini, depicting Ponte di Tiberio. On June 21, the state postal and numismatic company of San Marino presented a trial 10-euro coin at the Rimini City Museum, with the bridge depicted on the reverse side. 6,000 silver coins were issued for collectors, with a release price of 37 euros.
Among the most famous studies of the bridge is the work of Andrea Palladio, who said that “of all the bridges I have seen, Ponte di Tiberio is the most beautiful and worthy of attention (whether for its strength or its layout).” Palladio probably visited the bridge during his travels to Rome. Palladio’s sketches and measurements in “I quattro libri dell’architettura” included corrections to normalize the bridge’s dimensions and improve its symmetry. Palladio discussed the empty niches of the bridge, which he believed once contained statues. Completed in 1766, the Green Bridge, a neo-Palladian bridge over the River Nore in Kilkenny, Ireland, is an almost exact copy of Ponte di Tiberio, designed by architect George Smith, inspired by Palladio’s sketches in Leon’s translation.
The Bridge of Augustus in Rimini (1750), a landscape painting by Richard Wilson, who depicted the bridge several times in the 18th century from different angles
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_di_Tiberio_(Rimini)
https://www.romagna.net/rimini/monumenti/ponte-di-tiberio/
