Ponte Milvio

Ancient Roman bridge, a landmark of Rome, Italy

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Ponte Milvio

Pons Milvius (Latin)

Ponte Milvio over the Tiber

Coordinates| 41°56′08″N 12°28′01″E﻿ / ﻿41.93556°N 12.46694°E﻿ / 41.93556; 12.46694
Crosses| Tiber
Locale| Rome, Italy
Other name(s)| Milvian Bridge, Mulvian Bridge
Pons Mulvius
Ponte Molle
Characteristics
Design| Arch bridge
Material| Stone, brick
Total length| 136 m
Width| 8.75 m
Longest span| 18.55 m
No. of spans| 6
History
Construction end| 109 BC (stone bridge)
Location
Click on the map for a fullscreen view

The Milvian (or Mulvian) Bridge (Italian: Ponte Milvio or Ponte Molle; Latin: Pons Milvius or Pons Mulvius) is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, which led to the imperial rule of Constantine.

## History

[edit]

Painting Landscape with Ponte Molle , mid17th century by Jan Both

A bridge was built by consul Gaius Claudius Nero in 206 BC after he had defeated the Carthaginian army in the Battle of the Metaurus. In 109 BC, censor Marcus Aemilius Scaurus built a new bridge[1] of stone in the same position, demolishing the old one. In 63 BC, letters from the conspirators of the Catiline conspiracy were intercepted here, allowing Cicero to read them to the Roman Senate the next day. In AD 312, Constantine I defeated his stronger rival Maxentius between this bridge and Saxa Rubra, in the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge.[citation needed]

During the Middle Ages, the bridge was renovated by a monk named Acuzio, and in 1429 Pope Martin V asked a famous architect, Francesco da Genazzano, to repair it because it was collapsing. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the bridge was modified by two architects, Giuseppe Valadier and Domenico Pigiani. In the 17th century the Ponte Molle was one of the architectonic subjects in the arcadian landscape pictures of Dutch and Flemish painters as for example Jan Both.[citation needed]

The bridge was badly damaged in 1849 by Garibaldi's troops in an attempt to block a French invasion but repaired by Pope Pius IX the following year.[citation needed]

## Problems

[edit]

### Love locks

[edit]

Love padlocks on the bridge

Following the release of the popular book and movie "I Want You" (Ho voglia di te 2006) by Italian writer Federico Moccia, couples started – as a token of love – to attach padlocks to a lamppost on the bridge. After attaching the lock, they would throw the key behind them into the Tiber river.[2] However, after the lamppost partially collapsed in 2007 because of the weight of the padlocks, all parts of the bridge—including its balustrades, railings and garbage bins—were used. It has continued despite Rome's city council introducing a €50 fine for anyone found attaching locks to the bridge. In 2012, city authorities removed all locks from the bridge.[3]

### Football violence

[edit]

The bridge is known as a place where football hooligans or ultras from A.S. Roma attack fans from opposing teams on match days. The lightning attack or puncicata, as it is known in Roman slang, is where a flash mob of ultras ambush fans, stabbing them in the buttocks before running away. The bridge is used because its design and location make it suitable. On the occasions of games played by the other local team, S.S.Lazio, the A.S. Roma fans tend to avoid the area, as it is where Lazio ultras usually gather.[4]

## See also

[edit]

* Ponte Sant'Angelo – Ancient bridge in Rome
* Charles Bridge
* List of Roman bridges
* Most Ljubavi
* Roman architecture
* Roman engineering

## References

[edit]

1. ^ De viris illustribus, 72 read in line
2. ^ "Locks of love clutter Rome's oldest bridge". New York Times. August 5, 2007.
3. ^ "Rome's Ponte Milvio bridge: 'Padlocks of love' removed". BBC News. September 10, 2012.
4. ^ "Roma v Liverpool: Roma's passionate support blighted by a violent minority". BBC News. May 1, 2018.

## Sources

[edit]

* O’Connor, Colin (1993), Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp. 64f, ISBN 0-521-39326-4

## External links

[edit]

* Pons Mulvius (II) at Structurae
* Ritual draws sweethearts to Rome bridge article describing the padlock ritual
* Google Map
* Lucentini, M. (2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. ISBN 978-1623710088.

Media related to Ponte Milvio at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Pons Fabricius | Landmarks of Rome
Ponte Milvio  | Succeeded by
Ponte Sant'Angelo

|
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Bridges|

* Pons Cestius
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Roman Catholic
basilicas|

* Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran
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Other landmarks|

* Altare della Patria (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of Italy)
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Squares, streets
and public spaces|

* Appian Way
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* Via dei Coronari
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Parks, gardens
and zoos|

* Bioparco
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Museums and
art galleries|

* Boncompagni Ludovisi Decorative Art Museum
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Art|

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* Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus
* Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
* Pietà
* Portonaccio sarcophagus
* Raphael Rooms
* Sistine Chapel ceiling
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Landscape|

| Seven Hills|

* Aventine
* Caelian
* Capitoline
* Esquiline
* Palatine
* Quirinal
* Viminal

|

* Tiber Island
* Monte Testaccio

Metropolitan City
of Rome Capital|

* Appian Way Regional Park
* Capo di Bove
* Castello Orsini-Odescalchi
* Frascati
* Hadrian's Villa
* Ostia Antica
* Villa Aldobrandini
* Villa d'Este
* Villa Farnese

Events and traditions|

* Festa della Repubblica
* Rome Quadriennale
* Rome Film Festival

Enclave|

* Vatican City

* v
* t
* e

Ancient bridges on the Tiber (from source to mouth)

Upstream|

Milvius (Molle)
Ælius (Sant'Angelo)
Neronianus†
Agrippae (Sisto)
Aurelius†

After Tiber Isl.|

Fabricius
Cestius
Æmilius (Rotto)†
Sublicius†
Probi†

* † partly or wholly underwater or demolished
* Names are in the original Latin; in parentheses are the Italian names that differ significantly

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Roman bridges

England|

* Chesters Bridge
* Piercebridge Roman Bridge
* Pons Aelius

France|

* Pont Ambroix
* Pont de Bornègre
* Pont des Marchands
* Pont du Gard
* Pont Flavien
* Pont Julien
* Pont Serme
* Pont sur la Laye
* Roman Bridge (Saint-Thibéry)
* Roman Bridge (Vaison-la-Romaine)

Germany|

* Caesar's Rhine bridges
* Roman Bridge (Trier)

Iran|

* Band-e Kaisar

Italy|

* Pons Aemilius
* Pons Agrippae
* Ponte Altinate
* Pons Cestius
* Pons Fabricius
* Pons Neronianus
* Pons Probi
* Pons Sublicius
* Pont d'Aël
* Pont de Pierre (Aosta)
* Pont-Saint-Martin
* Ponte d'Augusto (Narni)
* Ponte di Tiberio
* Ponte Corvo
* Ponte del Gran Caso
* Ponte Milvio
* Ponte Molino (Padua)
* Ponte Nomentano
* Ponte Pietra (Verona)
* Ponte di Pioraco
* Ponte di Quintodecimo
* Ponte Salario
* Ponte San Lorenzo
* Ponte di San Vito
* Ponte Sant'Angelo
* Susegana Bridge

Lebanon|

* Leontes Bridge

Portugal|

* Ponte de Rubiães
* Ponte Nova da Cava da Velha
* Roman Bridge (Chaves)
* Roman Bridge of Catribana

Romania|

* Constantine's Bridge (Danube)
* Trajan's Bridge

Spain|

* Acueducto de los Milagros
* Albarregas Roman bridge
* Alconétar Bridge
* Aqueduct of Segovia
* Alcántara Bridge
* Les Ferreres Aqueduct
* Puente de Alcántara
* Puente Romano, Mérida
* Roman bridge of Ávila
* Roman bridge of Córdoba
* Roman bridge of Lugo
* Roman bridge of Salamanca
* Roman bridge of Talamanca de Jarama

Syria|

* Ain Diwar Bridge
* Bridge at Nimreh
* Gemarrin Bridge
* Kharaba Bridge

Turkey|

* Aesepus Bridge
* Arapsu Bridge
* Bridge at Oinoanda
* Constantine's Bridge (Mysia)
* Eurymedon Bridge (Aspendos)
* Eurymedon Bridge (Selge)
* Karamagara Bridge
* Kemer Bridge
* Limyra Bridge
* Misis Bridge
* Macestus Bridge
* Nysa Bridge
* Penkalas Bridge
* Pergamon Bridge
* Sangarius Bridge
* Severan Bridge
* Stone Bridge (Adana)
* Valens Aqueduct Bridge
* White Bridge (Mysia)

* Full list of Roman bridges

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

Geographic|

* Structurae
* Pleiades

Other|

* Kulturenvanteri monument

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