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Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page revised in May 2010.
To the Italian visitors of my web site

Ponte Salaro (Book 5) (Environs of Rome)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Ponte Salaro
A Walk to Via Flaminia (Torre Lazzaroni)

The Plate (No. 83)

Ponte Salaro

Ponte Salaro was named after Via Salaria, the road through which the inland regions north of Rome (such as Sabina) received the salt they needed for food preservation and cheese production. Ponte Salaro crossed the Aniene near the point where this river flows into the Tiber; many foreign painters of the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries depicted it in their Italianate landscapes, small oil paintings which they sold in their countries of origin; similar to them Giuseppe Vasi in this plate gave more relevance to the landscape than to the bridge; for a very different approach you may wish to see an etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (external link) drawn at approximately the same time.
In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Tavern; 2) Roman inscriptions; 3) Part of the Roman bridge; 4) Tower built by Narses; 5) Via Salaria towards Rome. The small 1883 map shows: 1) Ponte Salaro; 2) Fontana dell'Acqua Acetosa; 3) Via Flaminia.

Small ViewSmall Map

Today

The view today
The view in May 2010

Ponte Salaro has been damaged and rebuilt several times since Vasi's etching; today's view would hardly be considered by a painter for inclusion in a landscape; only the tower above the tavern is still there and its tip is visible from the current bridge.

Ponte Salaro

Friedrich Horner
Ponte Salaro in 1840 by Friedrich Horner (by courtesy of Mr. Johannes Fichter)


The ancient Roman bridge was damaged during the Greek-Gothic War and it was repaired by Narses, a Byzantine general, who celebrated the event by placing two long inscriptions at its centre. In 1799 the Neapolitans cut the bridge and the inscriptions fell into the Aniene. The tower on the bridge was most likely built in the VIIIth century and it was almost entirely rebuilt by Pope Nicholas V, who did the same at Ponte Nomentano; in 1840, as shown in the painting by Friedrich Horner, it did not exist any longer. In 1867 Garibaldi made an attempt to conquer Rome from the north with the help of an internal revolt. The French troops who defended Rome, mined the bridge in order to check his advance and eventually defeated Garibaldi near Mentana.

Ponte Salaro
Modern bridge built on the foundations of ancient Ponte Salaro


The current bridge was built in 1870 and enlarged in 1930; a second bridge parallel to it was built after WWII to cope with the high volume of traffic caused by the urban development of Rome beyond the Aniene.

Ponte Salaro
Ancient Roman tomb upon which a tower was built in the XIIIth century

The ancient Roman tomb at the base of the tower was popularly known as Sepolcro di Mario, a reference to Marius, the leader of a faction during the First Roman Civil War and whose body is said to have been exhumed and thrown into the Tiber four years after his death.

A Walk to Via Flaminia

The initial part of this walk makes use of a very congested road which leads to a bridge across the Tiber; on the other side of the river, a cycling track offers the opportunity for visiting an area where many sport facilities are located.

Mosque
The Mosque of Rome by Paolo Portoghesi seen near Ponte Salaro


Tennis and soccer facilities
Tennis and soccer facilities


Views of Torre Lazzaroni
Views of Torre Lazzaroni. The tower is named after the family who bought it at the beginning of the XXth century; the Lazzaroni added to it medieval looking buildings, coats of arms and merlons. Similar to the tower of Ponte Salaro it was built above an ancient Roman tomb.

Racecourse
Ippodromo Militare (Army Racecourse) di Tor di Quinto


Golf and show jumping facilities
Training grounds for golf and show jumping


Cycling track
Cycling track near Via Flaminia


Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Ponte Salaro
Tre miglia fuori della porta Salara si vede il ponte del medesimo nome distrutto da Totila, e poi rifatto da Narsete nell'an. 39. dell'Imperio di Giustiniano, come si legge nella celebre iscrizione postavi dal medesimo.

Next plate in Book 5: Fonte dell'Acqua Acetosa
Next step in your tour of the Environs of Rome: Ponte Nomentano