Three bridges.
Let me decode this photo. It’s taken from the west end of the Ponte Palatino, looking slightly northwest, then north, and finally east—a pano, hence the strange distortion. On the left, the bridge from the west bank of the Tiber to Isola Tiberina (Rome’s island), the Ponte Cestio. On the far right, the bridge I’m standing on, the Ponte Palatino. And next to the latter, also far right, is a single arch that remains of the ancient Romans’ Pons Aemilius, now lovingly nicknamed the Ponte Rotto, broken bridge.
For me, the Aemilius is the most interesting; core parts of the ruin, sources assure me, date to the 2nd C BC. The last updates came in the 1500s. The final insult came in 1887 when one end was removed to install the Ponte Palatino.
Construction of a bridge to this bank from the island was intentionally delayed by the Romans for centuries, we are told. While they long had a bridge from “their” side (the east/south side), the Ponte Cestio, anciently the Pons Cestius, was not built until about a century after the Aemilius (if I have it right). Thus, crossing the river using the island as a stepping stone was not prioritized, although we are told ancient Rome’s location was important as a crossing spot. It was or it wasn’t. Or, it was, but they didn’t want to make it too easy, as enemies and marauders lived to the northwest.
In the late 1800s, when the Tiber was channelized and walled in, with retaining levees built, they widened this part next to the island, I think to force more of the water on this side(?), and the ancient bridge wasn’t long enough any more, so, geeze, it was just an Ancient Roman Structure, so The City’s Wisemen ordered it replaced.
Enough about bridges. Here is a particularly comely city entrance, the Porta Portese. This was roughly the location of the former Porta Portuense. Both names refer to Rome’s port at the river mouth, and the road to there along this bank of the Tiber. The river-mouth was early important as a salt-producing zone, and major trade routes went inland from the sea flats on both sides of the Tiber, as well and up and down the coast. Later, this became a major port area, serving Rome and inland. Major engineering modifications kept it useful (e.g., the massive six-sided basin constructed under Hadrian’s watch and now just south of the airport—see satellite images).
Two other bits to note. We found this sign on the wall of a particularly narrow alley—about one wide shoulder-width at one end—in the original neighborhood of Trastevere (meaning: across the Tiber), south of the Isola Tiberina. Today we first visited that area, and discovered that although unfailingly described as charming and old-world in guides, it is a tourist mecca, and thus a mecca for sidewalk salespeople of all stripes, and not quite an incubator of Roman life as lived by present-day Romans. As to unofficial the English sign, I love its formal design….
Now a bit of action. We also saw a speed-trap setup with four cop cars earlier in the day, with someone getting a ticket and not looking happy about it. Plus, right after we saw this towing (love that lift! a bar on each side of the front tires, spanned together—up and away), we saw another tow truck ready to pull out all loaded up a block away. Since these three aren’t far apart, I guess the cops were targeting this area today. ??
Posted at 10:22 PM |
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We shifted geospatially.
We socialized in the best way.
We slid through a power outage. (I emphasize we.)
We are a happy duo!
Posted at 10:10 PM |
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I love that the maps app I have advises on the “best” route from here to there, but its algorithms and my ideas of “best” do not always match. Today we got a device “best” that matched my “best.” And life was good. The photo is from a detour during the sunset-afterglow. [You know I’m not up early enough to catch this marginal light in the morning (usually).]
Posted at 10:20 PM |
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JCB & JPB went to DragonCon. And I did not.
JCB took this photo. And I did not.
Used with permission.
Apologies to Tommy Roe. Architecture and a gal are not in the same league in the potential for creating dizziness. Why? Because a building, even a Portman structure, in this case Atlanta’s Marriott downtown, cannot love you back. BTW, no whirlpool in the atrium….
Posted at 6:34 PM |
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At some point in the distant, dreamy past, I decided I’d love to live where I had a second-floor porch with REAL columns, overlooking a shaded street. Today I enjoyed such vicariously, for a few exceptional, delicious hours. Note the egg-and-dart detail accompanying the iconic Ionic column-top, a conventional and lovely pairing.
Posted at 11:54 PM |
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There are Sundays and there are Sundays.
On this one, we had rain; real rain, not pop-up summer showers. Rain that interrupted my sleep, and also will make the weeds easier to pull. (Chore for the coming week.)
Also, the last of the legendary striped sofas moved on to a new home, a first-apartment-after-college. Now we have an empty spot.
Other activities that come to mind were the meaningless drudgery of household life.
Posted at 10:22 PM |
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Did a wee (and I mean wee) bit of thinking about the power of the Internet in connecting people who otherwise would not encounter one another. Not ground-breaking, that thought, but worth contemplating for several reasons. I was considering how/whether it makes for a significantly different dynamic when considering how civilizations and societies function.
Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, is this broad, empty hallway in a busy well-populated office building this size mostly to satisfy fire regulations? That’s a lot of square footage that can never be rented….
Posted at 7:44 PM |
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Seems like a workable combo, until you consider that the train-management probably wouldn’t like a bike tethered to the railing—insurance worries, I’m guessing.
The secret is that this caboose is parked, and seemed to be the office of a bike-messenger business.
BTW, that cream-colored canister is for spent butts.
Posted at 10:22 PM |
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Wouldn’t ya know it. Our first stop in GA was the rest area just inside the state line—and we made it before the toilets closed for the evening!
Just so there’s no mistake in the minds of even casual visitors, the state has installed a neon reminder high in a gable dormer of the realm you have entered….
Posted at 11:46 PM |
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I spent about three hours this afternoon watching these fixtures hanging from the ceiling of this music hall—and the events below them. Just light diffusers? Or also sound reflectors?
Yeah, I’m admitting I couldn’t concentrate on the main speaker’s…um-hmmm…yawn….
Posted at 9:31 PM |
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