The bridge spanning the River Marecchia is more than two thousand years old and I walk across it as millions of others have over the last ninety or so generations.
But then I stop to reflect, to see myself in the history of this stone structure, started by Emperor Augustus in 14 AD and finished by Tiberius in 21 AD.
A kiosk by the bridge suggests that the bridge would appropriately be named the Augustus and Tiberius Bridge, but its official name is Ponte di Tiberio – Tiberius Bridge.
For centuries, anyone passing through Rimini, which indeed was a major route along the Adriatic Coast, would have crossed this bridge.
As I read the history of the bridge on the kiosks, I feel there is a bit of magic associated with this structure.
Two earthquakes, in 1672 and 1786, failed to destroy the bridge.
In June, 552, the bridge was only partially damaged in an attempt to impede a Byzantine army’s approach to Rome.
An attempt to burn the bridge in 1528 to escape an approaching French army failed to take down the bridge.
And then in the Second World War, on September 20, 1944, a retreating German army set charges to destroy the bridge, but the demolitions only partially detonated, saving the bridge.
And here it stands still, after more than two thousand years, for the likes of me to wander across at will.
And to be grateful for it.
