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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 March 2010.

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Ponte Sisto (Book 5) (Map C3) (Day 6) (View D8) (Rione Trastevere) and (Rione Regola)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Ponte Sisto

The Plate (No. 89)

Ponte Sisto

In Book V, which covered the monuments along the river and which was published in the first months of 1754, Giuseppe Vasi made use of some copperplates he had engraved in the 1740s for Vedute di Roma sul Tevere, a book covering the same subject, but with views of a smaller size; these early works showed landscapes, rather than focusing on specific monuments.
In the foreground of this plate Vasi shows Passo della Barchetta all'Armata, a small boat which ferried passengers between the steps leading to Monastero della SS. Croce, on the right bank of the river, and S. Eligio degli Orefici.
The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Giardino Farnese; 2) Collegio Ecclesiastico; 3) S. Sabina sul Monte Aventino; 4) S. Grisogono. All are shown in detail in other pages; the small map shows also 5) Ponte Sisto.

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The view today
The view in March 2010

In the late XIXth century the river bed was enlarged and high walls were built on the banks to prevent floods; the spire of S. Grisogono is still visible while some modern buildings obstruct the view of S. Sabina, but not that of the pine trees which are located on an adjoining terrace.

Ponte Sisto

Ponte Sisto
(above) Ponte Sisto; (below) inscriptions: that on the left is factual, that on the right is exhortative

In 1450 a mule became unruly on Ponte S. Angelo during a crowded Jubilee procession and many people fell into the river. In view of the forthcoming 1475 Jubilee, Pope Sixtus IV built a new bridge to facilitate the access to the Vatican and avoid a repetition of the 1450 accident. The pope wanted the bridge to bear his name (Xystumque suo de nomine appellari voluit); in an inscription he also asked those who crossed the bridge to pray for his health; the inscriptions were written by Bartolomeo Platina, the pope's librarian and the author of Vitae Pontificum, a book on the lives of the popes from St. Peter to 1474; at the end of an inscription Platina wrote a sentence which reminds of the epitaphs on the ancient tombs: Vale quisquis es ubi haec precatus fueris "Farewell (in the literal sense of fare+well) to you, whoever you are, as long as you prayed (for me)". You may wish to see Bartolomeo Platina (on his knees) and Pope Sixtus IV with his nephews in a famous painting by Melozzo da Forlì - external link.

Ponte Sisto (2)
Upstream views of Ponte Sisto


Ponte Sisto in part made use of the remaining piers of ancient Pons Aurelius; their bases had the shape of a boat with the bow facing the stream.
The image used as background for this page shows the coat of arms of Pope Sixtus IV.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Ponte Sisto
Janiculense fu l'antico nome di questo ponte per il monte Gianicolo, che li sta appresso; e se fu questo il rifabbricato dall'Imperatore Antonino, si può dire, che da questo furono fra gli altri buttati nel fiume i corpi de' ss. Calepodio, Ippolito, ed Adria, fermati poi intorno all'isola Tiberina. Indi restando per lungo tempo rotto, nell'anno 1473. fu rinnovato da Sisto IV. perciò da questo ha preso il nome moderno.

Next plate in Book 5: Spiaggia detta la Regola
Next step in Day 6 itinerary: Porta Settimiana