Transcript The River Tevere

THE TIBER
Il TEVERE
Tevere is the river of the eternal city, Rome . He was considered a kind
of Deity: it saved Romolo and Remo, so it became important for the
story of this city. When Rome grew up it was used as a waterway. It
was also the reason of varius war between the Romans and other
popolations because it was an important source of wealth.
The Tiber springs on Mount
Fumaiolo and flows into the
Tirreno Sea. It is very long in
fact it is the third river for
lenght in Italy (405km),
second only its basin to
the Po river’s basin (17 375
km ²). The source of the
Tiber is also a tourist
destination. This river is
also navigable and people
usually go fishing in it .
There are a lot of animals
like small beavers, snakes,
different kinds of birds and
many types of fish like
trouts, pikes and carps.
The Tiber is crossed by
about 30 bridges. The
Romans began to built
these bridges since when
they had the possession
of the left bank of the
river. We can divide the
bridges in 4 groups:
bridges on the Tiber , on
the Aniene, modern
bridges and Papal
bridges. The most
important bridges are :
Cestio’s , Fabricio’s ,
Sant’Angelo’s , Sisto’s and
Milvio’s
Since the Roman Age the river has been crossed by a lot of bridges.
The oldest is the Roman bridge, built in 179 by the ancient Romans,
while the newest is Marconi’s, built in 1954 and renovated recently.
Rotto bridge is credited to Marco Fulvio Nobiliore and Marco Emilio
Lepido. It was damaged by the river foods between 1230 and 1422. It
was reconstructed by pope Giulio III but it was destroyed by the floods.
So it was called Rotto (that means broken) since 1557. The most
modern bridge is dedicated to Guglielmo Marconi like the street that
crosses it . It is the longest bridge in Rome with its 235 m lenght.
Fabricio’s and Cestio’s bridges are the ones which connect
Tiberina’s island. Cestio was built in 40 d.C by Lucio Sestio while
Fabricio was built in 62 a.C. by Lucio Fabrizio. Cestio is 54 m. long,
while Fabricio is 57m. In 1888 and in 1892 two arches of the Cestio
bridge were demolished and built again.
Sant’Angelo’s bridge was built in 134 d.C. by the imperator Hadrian,
just in front of his personal Mausoleum. It was a bridge used by the
enemies to assault the castle built in Medieval times on Hadrian’s
Tomb and for this reason it was destroyed many time . This bridge is
also known for its statues created by Bernini on the request by
Pope Clemente. Probably it is the most important and famous
bridge of Rome.
In the past Tiberina Island
was used for means of
transport between the
right bank and the left. A
legend sasy that this island
was built by a ship which
sank and the Romans
decided to built a prow in
stone, in fact the island
resembles boat.
Today on Tiberina Island we find
a hospital and other buildings .
Today it is an important
destination for tourist especially
during hot summer nights. On
the Island there are Esculapius
Temple and San Bartolomeo’s
Basilica: a pagan and a Christian
landmark.
Floods of the Tiber.
The floods of the Tiber are important for the history of Rome.
The oldest flood occured in 414 a.C. but the oldest which has a
commemorative plaque is in the 1277. The tallest flood that
Rome suffered was in 1598 . The last flood was in 1937. An
interesting thing was that when pope Pio IX was elected and
when he died (1846,1878) there were floods. In the centre of
Rome there is the hydrometer in Via Ripetta, which measured
the level of the water.
Muraglioni were a project of Raffaele Canevari to stem the Tiber
with the high walls of travertine that we still see today. They had to
be tall enough to hold a full flood- more than the one of December
28, 1870. The construction of the muraglioni lasted half a century
and ended only in 1926. It changed the face of Rome, freeing Rome
by the fear of floods. Still now along via Ripetta tourists can notice
the signs showing the level reached by water in the 1870 flood. It
reached the second floor in the houses!
Powered by Fabrizio Cappiello,
Mario Caracciolo and Thomas
Serafini.