Pons Sublicius
41.88441938739512.476638555527Koordinaten: 41 ° 53 ' 3.9 " N, 12 ° 28' 35.9 " E
F1
Via Latina
The Pons Sublicius (Latin pons = " bridge ", sublicae = " wooden stakes ") was the oldest bridge in Rome (Italy).
Location and time of origin
The solid timber construction, which probably corresponded to the built much later Caesar's Rhine Bridge, was probably located near the Forum Boarium below the Tiber island on a shallow spot, which was already used as a ford. The bridge that connected Rome with the right bank of the Tiber and the Salt Road, was built, according to tradition, under the reign of King Ancus Marcius in the 7th century BC. About the Pons Sublicius ran the Via Latina. A drawing by Friedrich Pollack from 1896 probably shows the correct position at which there was the bridge that interprets the Pons Sublicius but only as a jetty rather than crossing the Tiber. The last vestiges of the pons Sublicius may have been removed at the end of the 19th century and Pollack may have influenced in his performance. Pier Luigi Tucci says that the fragments 138a -f and 574a -b of the Forma Urbis, a marble city plan of Rome from the time of Septimius Severus, a road show, which was not, as previously, on the Pons Aemilius, but via the Pons Sublicius led. The bridge was destroyed several times and rebuilt, including in connection with the defense of Rome by Horatius Cocles.
The exploit of Cocles
Horatius Cocles to the Pons Sublicius have 509 or 508 BC to defend against the enemy Etruscans under the leadership of Porsena almost single-handedly, who wanted to bring the deposed tyrant Tarquinius Superbus back to power. Supposedly, the bridge was during this battle torn, or to keep the Etruscans from Rome. Livy reports ( 2, 10, 3):
Cocles is after the bridge demolished and the onslaught of the enemy had been delayed, have jumped into the Tiber. About the end of the story circulating different versions. The process is depicted on a coin from the time of Antoninus Pius.
The bridge was later rebuilt, but with a modified design: The superstructure could be in case of attack easily removed and attached later. In the year 69 BC, destroyed by flood, the bridge, which was subsequently rebuilt. Also, 23 BC, the Pons Sublicius was a flood victim, but was apparently later rebuilt. At least until the 5th century AD, the bridge was probably usable, Remains may have existed until the late 19th century.
Gaius Gracchus and the pons Sublicius
Another famous user of the bridge was Gaius Gracchus. He fled across the Pons Sublicius when his adversary gained the upper hand, and was killed in a grove near. Prior to a battle between his pursuers and defenders on the Pons Sublicius had played.
Religion and rituals
The Pons Sublicius was under the protection of the pontiffs. On the Ides of March each drew a procession of the temples of Servius Tullius about the Pons Sublicius and threw statues of handcuffed men into the Tiber. Perhaps the origin of this martial ritual - the enemies were symbolically destroyed - from the Etruscan period. On May 15 ( the Ides Maius ) straw dolls (called Argei ) were cast on behalf of prisoners living in the Tiber also from the bridge.
Representations of the pons Sublicius
From antiquity comes the aforementioned coin. Tommaso Laureti created in the 16th century fresco in the palace curator on which the battle for the bridge and the wooden structure are shown detailed.
The modern bridge
1919 was built a few meters downstream of the architect Marcello Piacentini, a new bridge, which took over the name Ponte Sublicio. It connects the Piazza di Porta Portese in Trastevere Piazza dell'Emporio in Testaccio.