Pons Neronianus, Roman bridge near Vatican district, Rome, Italy
Pons Neronianus was a Roman bridge in Rome that crossed the Tiber between the Campus Martius to the north and the Vatican hills to the south. It was built in stone, with piers set directly in the riverbed to carry the road across.
The bridge was built in the 1st century to ease access to imperial gardens and ceremonial spaces across the Tiber. Over the following centuries, repeated flooding and lack of upkeep wore the structure down until only the foundations survived.
Early medieval sources describe this crossing as a key link between the urban core and the Vatican hill. Pilgrims and officials heading to the Vatican area would almost certainly have passed over it.
The best view of the surviving pier remains in the riverbed is from Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, which crosses the Tiber at the same point today. In summer, when the river runs lower, the ancient stonework becomes easier to spot.
The ancient Via Triumphalis, the road used by victorious generals entering the city in ceremonial processions, ran across this bridge. That road is now one of the least visible of Rome's great ceremonial routes, even though its role was comparable to that of the Via Sacra.
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