Ancient Bridge, Rome

‎We are standing just above the new iron bridge called Ponte Rotto. We are looking to the northwest, and the bridge we see above the old arch is the Ponte Fabricio, that runs from the left bank of the Tiber to the Isola Tiberina. The Ponte Fabricio runs from the bank to this island, and the Ponte Cestio runs from the island to the right bank. The old arch we see between these bridges is the last remaining arch of the ancient Pons Æmilius, built 181 B. C. On the Isola Tiberina is the church of St. Bartolomeo. This stands, in all probability, upon the site of the ancient temple of Æsculapius. It was built A. D. 1000, by the Emperor Otho III. The island was connected with Trastevere by an ancient bridge built by Augustus. The old arch we see was in its place when St. Paul was in Rome; and as he lived here on his first stay in Rome for two years, we do not doubt that his eyes rested upon it. Rome has seven ancient bridges; five of them are still in use. The other two are picturesque and alive in historic associations. It was from the ancient bridge begun by Æmilius Lepidus and finished by Scipio Africanus, the censor, that the body of the Emperor Heliogabalus was thrown into the Tiber. The bridge fell in the thirteenth century, and was rebuilt by Pope Honorius III. After further restorations, the portion on the left bank of the river was carried away and two arches lost, since which no attempt has been made to restore them. It was upon the oldest and most celebrated of all the Roman bridges—the Pons Sublicius—that Horatius Cocles and his two companions stood and kept at bay the Etruscan army of Laus Porsenna.