Ponte Fabricio, Rome, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

Ponte Fabricio is a stone bridge in Rome that links the east bank of the Tiber with Tiber Island. Built in 62 BC, it is the oldest arch bridge in the city and is still crossed on foot every day. It matters because it is a working piece of Roman engineering, not a ruin behind a fence.

The story behind it

The bridge takes its name from Lucius Fabricius, the Roman official in charge of roads and public works when it was built. He put his own name on the project, and the inscriptions on the arches still carry it. The bridge has served the same crossing for more than two thousand years and remains largely as the Romans left it.

Romans also call it the Ponte dei Quattro Capi, the bridge of the four heads. The name comes from the stone pillars on the parapet that carry heads of the god Janus, who is usually shown with two faces. The pillars are a later addition and are not part of the original design.

What to look for

• The Latin inscriptions on the arches name Fabricius as the builder, so you can read the credit he gave himself.
• The pillars with the carved heads of Janus on the parapet explain the nickname of the four heads.
• The shape of the arches shows how Roman builders made a bridge strong enough to cope with the Tiber in flood.
• The view over the river and onto Tiber Island shows how the island and the bridge work together as a crossing.

Tips for your visit

• You only need ten to fifteen minutes for the bridge itself, longer if you stop to read the inscriptions and look along the river.
• Early morning and early evening are the calmest times, and the light on the old stone is at its best then.
• Tiber Island is just across the bridge, so you can easily add a short stroll there.
• It is an open-air crossing in the middle of the city, so you can visit it any time. Check current opening hours for any nearby sights you want to enter.

See it on a quest

The bridge is one stop on Hidden Gems of Trastevere: Return Home, a self-guided walk through the Trastevere area. You reach the bridge on foot as part of a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle in front of what you are looking at. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join.