Pons Fabricius
About
Lucius Fabricius, curator of Rome's roads, built this bridge in 62 BCE to replace an older wooden crossing lost to fire, linking the Campus Martius to Tiber Island on two wide arches braced by a central pier. At 62 meters long it is the oldest Roman bridge still standing anywhere in the world, and Fabricius's own inscription is still legible on the stonework today. Later generations nicknamed it Ponte dei Quattro Capi after four-headed marble herms added at one end centuries afterward. By 117 CE it had already carried foot traffic over the Tiber's eastern channel for nearly 180 years without ever needing to be rebuilt.
What happened here
Piers are set on cofferdams — a ring of driven piles, pumped dry, filled with concrete that sets under water. They are built with a cutwater pointing upstream to split the current and the ice. The span above may be stone arches or timber on stone, and timber is not a poor relation: it is cheaper, faster, and replaceable. Roads approach on an embankment so the crossing stays level. Tolls are common, shrines at either end are usual, and the inscription names whoever paid. Floods are the enemy; a bridge is inspected after every big one, and the scour around the piers is packed with rubble. A bridge fixes a town's position for a thousand years, which is why so many are still standing.
Sources
Nearby
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →