A walk along the Tiber in Rome, Italy
The following walk takes a winding route of the Tiber river through the heart of
Rome you'll encounter many interesting sites and monuments of the other
Rome. Up until the construction of the embankments, in the late 19th
Century, it was completely navigable and characterized by an unending
sequence of buildings that faced onto and were reflected by its waters.
The river was used for fishing, bathing; the water was used to drink
and for motive power.
Our walk starts from the Isola Tiberina, which was of exceptional importance
in the history of the birth and development of Rome. In fact, starting
in extremely ancient times, the islands presence of a facilitated crossing
of the river, leading to the building of the first permanent settlements
on the surrounding high ground, the seven hills of Rome.
According to ancient tradition, the island was allegedly formed in
the late 6th Century A.D. after the Etruscan kings were driven from
Rome, when the people threw into the river, out of contempt for the
monarchy, the wheat harvested on the Royal properties of Campus Martius.
Another legend tells of a large boat grounded in the middle of the river
during a flood, and later filled up with sand transported by the river.
In reality the island is situated on an ancient volcanic rock core
similar to that upon which rests the nearby Capitol, but the shape does
seem some what to resemble a ship. This did not escape the Romans who,
in the 1st Century B.C. accentuated the shape; modeling the islands
sides with travertine and raising an obelisk in the centre, like a majestic
mast, This "stone ship" was meant to commemorate the beautiful
ship of Aesculapius, the god of medicine, and his miraculous intervention.
Legend has it that in the 3rd Century B.C. during a plague, the Roman
went by ship to Epidaurus, in Greece, to learn from the god Aesculapius
how to escape the scourge. But, when the returning ship was ascending
the river, the gods sacred serpent slipped out of it, at the point where
the island was, indicating that that island was to be consecrated by
him.
The construction of a building sacred to the god Aesculapius, where
the present-day church of San Bartolomeo now stands, determined the
definitive destination of the island to a place of medical treatment,
also facilitated by its position segregated from the residential area.
Today, still, stands the Fatebenefratelli Hospital which occupies almost
the entire island.
The island is connected to the mainland by two bridges; the Cestio,
connecting with the Trastevere bank, and the Ponte Fabricio which is
the oldest bridge in Rome built around 62 B.C. From the island it is
possible to see a third bridge, the Ponte Rotto, which collapsed in
the late 16th Century. In the past, the bridge Ponte Fabricio was also
know as "Ponte dei Guidei ( bridge of the Jews) because it joined
the island to the Rome's Jewish Ghetto.
The Ghetto faces onto the Lungotevere Cenci with the monumental building
of the Jewish Synagogue, built in 1904, today also the seat of the Israelite
Museum of the Jewish community of Rome. Behind the synagogue is the
Portico d'Ottavia, an ancient portico built at the end of the 1st Century
B.C. by the emperor Augustus for his sister. Inside the monument stands
part of the church of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria, so-called for the important
fish market held here from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th Century.
The church of Sant'Angelo was one of the four churches where Jews had
to go every Saturday with the obligation of listening to the sermons
aiming to convert them. It was possible to avoid doing so by paying
a small fine, but more often the Jews preferred to fill their ears with
wax!
Continuing southward, we reach the Forum Boarium, in ancient times
the cattle market of Rome, and the Velabrum, once a stagnant marsh where,
according to tradition, the basket with the twins Romulus & Remus
was found.
The dominating monuments in the area are the two famous temples called
the Vesta (in circular plan dedicated to Hercules) and the Fortuna
Virilis (dedicated to the river god Portumnus). On the far side of
the road is the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, where beneath the
portico stands the famous Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth). A large
stone disk depicting the face of a faun or river god, with its mouth
open. According to legend, the stone was used to judge peoples honesty;
whoever told a lie while holding his hand in the mouth would loose his
hand if they id not speak the truth.
Further along the waterway we find the imposing Castel Sant'Angelo,
which was built by Emperor Hadrian, as a monumental tomb for himself
and his successors. From the 13th Century it became an annex to the
nearby Vatican, and the castle was used by Popes in times of danger.
The name Castel Sant'Angel derives from a miraculous event which took
place in 590: Rome was in the midst of a severe plague, and Pope Gregory
the great had organized a solemn procession in pray for its end. When
the procession reached the tomb of Hadrian, Archangel Michael was seen
flying up and sheathing his flaming sword, symbolizing the end of the
Plague.
The Synagogue and Museum of Jewish Art , open from 9am until 4.30 pm,
Fridays from 9am to 1.30pm, Sundays from 9 am to noon, closed Saturdays
and Jewish holidays.
The Castel Sant'Angelo, open from 9am until 7 pm, daily except Mondays.
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