Tiber Island (Isola Tiberina)
Tiber Island (Isola Tiberina)
Tiber Island's formation and development is shrouded in Roman myth and legend. In 293 B.C.E. it became the site of a sanctuary to Asklepios, the Greek god of healing, whose importation by boat from Epidaurus to Rome is related by Ovid. The island is now dominated by the Hospital of the Fatebenefratelli and by the church of San Bartolomeo (within which is a twelfth-century wellhead). Its bridges are ancient-the Pons Fabricius, dating from 62 B.C.E., is the oldest surviving bridge in Rome. You can descend a flight of steps near the hospital and walk the circumference of the island at river's edge. Still visible are traces of the ancient travertine façade, curved to resemble a boat, and featuring a bust and the snake-entwined staff of thegod. The decoration played on the natural boat-like shape of the island to recall the sea voyage of Asklepios to Rome.
Margaret A. Brucia
A 1992 Fellow at the American Academy in Rome in the field
of post-classical/ humanistic studies, Margaret A. Brucia currently
teaches in the Classics Department at Temple University's Rome campus.
