Il TEVERE

1. THE TIBER Il TEVERE

2. Tevere is the river of the eternal city, Rome . Hewasconsidered a kindofDeity: oneof the thingsthatitdid, saya legend , wastosaveRomolo and Remo, so itbeganimportant for the story of this city. WhenRomegrewup itwasusedas a waterway. Itwasalso the reason of varius war betweenthe Romansand otherpopolationsbecauseitwas an importantsource ofwealth.

3. The Tibersprings on Mount Fumaiolo and flows into the Tirreno Sea. It is very lon,gin fact it is the third river for length in Italy (405km), second only for extention 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 in a lot of part of it people usually fish. There are a lot of animals like nutrie, snakes, different kinds of birds and many types of fish like trouts, pikes and carps.

4. The Tiberiscrossedbyabout 30 bridges. The Romansbegan to builtthesebridgessincewhenhadthe possession of the leftbank of the river. We can divide the bridges in 4 groups: bridges on the Tiber , on the Aniene, modernbridgesand Papalbridges. The mostimportantbridgesare : Cestio’s , Fabricio’s , sant’Angelo’s , Sisto’s and Milvio’s

5. 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 FulvioNobiliore 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.

6. Fabricio’s and Cestio’s bridges are the oneswhichconnect Tiberina’s island. Cestiowasbuilt in 40 d.C by Lucio SestiowhileFabriciowasbuilt in 62 a.C. by Lucio Fabrizio. Cestiois54 m. long, whileFabriciois 57m. In 1888 and in 1892 twoarchesof the Cestio bridge weredemolishedand builtagain.

7. Sant’Angelo’s bridge wasbuilt in 134 d.C. by the imperator Hadrian, just in frontofhis personal Mausoleum. Itwas a bridge used by the enemiestoassaultthe castlebuilt in Medievaltimes on Hadrian’s Tomb and for thisreasonitwasdestroyedmany time . This bridge isalsoknown for itsstatuescreatedby Bernini on the requestby Pope Clemente. Probablyitis the mostimportant and famousbridge of Rome.

8. In the past Tiberina Island wasusedfor meansoftransportbetween the right bank and the left. A legendsasythatthisislandwasbuilt by a shipwhichsankand the Romansdecided to built a prow in stone, in fact the islandresembles boat. Todayon Tiberina Island wefind a hospital and otherbuildings. Todayitisan importantdestinationfortouristespeciallyduring hot summernights. On the Island there are EsculapiusTempleand San Bartolomeo’s Basilica: a pagan and a Christian landmark.

9. Floodsof the Tiber. The floods of the Tiber are important for the historyof Rome. The oldestfloodoccuredin 414 a.C. but the oldestwhichhas a commemorative plaqueis in the 1277. The tallestfloodthatRomesufferedwas in 1598 . The last floodwas in 1937. An interestingthingwasthatwhen pope Pio IX waselected and whenhedied(1846,1878) therewerefloods. In the centreof Rome thereisthe hydrometerin Via Ripetta, whichmeasured the level of the water.

10. Muraglioniwere a project of RaffaeleCanevari 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 muraglionilasted 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!

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