Ponte di Tiberio

Rimini's Ponte di Tiberio crosses the Marecchia on five arches of Istrian stone. Begun under Augustus and completed by Tiberius in 21 CE, the bridge links the historic centre with Borgo San Giuliano and preserves its ancient role in the city's road network.

Why it matters

The bridge's construction began in 14 CE under Augustus and was completed in 21 CE under Tiberius, as recorded by its dedicatory inscription. Here the Via Emilia, laid out toward Piacenza, met routes leading south and along the Adriatic. Its five stone arches and oblique piers reflect Roman engineering adapted to the river's current.

What to notice

The five arches widen toward the centre, from about 8.3 to 10.7 metres. Their profiles vary subtly, and blind niches mark the space between their springings. Carved ritual vessels and the lituus, a priest's staff, appear on the keystones. The roadway is paved in trachyte, while the bridge itself is built from limestone quarried at Aurisina.

The arch nearest Borgo San Giuliano was damaged during the Gothic War in 552. In 1944, German forces mined the bridge during their retreat, but the attempted demolition failed. Work in 1989–1991 cleared the pier bases and recovered stones now displayed in Parco XXV Aprile.

Context and history

The bridge crosses the Marecchia, known in antiquity as the Ariminus, connecting Rimini with the settlement that grew on the far bank. Its place in the road network helped make the Roman colony a regional crossroads. The structure remains a working link between the centre and Borgo San Giuliano, with its surviving inscriptions and engineering details attesting to nearly two millennia of use.