Buoyant Bronze from the Tiber

Rome-The National Museum’s new exhibition, “Submerged Memories, the bronzes of the Valentinian Bridge,” highlights statues discovered at the bottom of the Tiber almost 150 years ago. The footbridge Ponte Sisto now crosses the river at the same point and replaced the ancient Roman bridge built by Emperor Valentinian.

 The bridge was named after Emperor Valentinian I, who rebuilt it in 367 AD during the time he ruled the Roman Empire with his brother, Valens. In 729 AD, a flood destroyed the bridge and hence it became known by the name Pons Rumptus (broken bridge). The current Ponte Sisto was built by Pope Sixtus IV in 1475 during the Jubilee.

 The highlight of the show is the gilded bronze, Headless Statue of Togatus, from the first century AD and likely reused in the fourth century under the theory that the young emperor replaced the head of the statue with his own. The statue was recreated from 33 fragments found at the site. The figure is raising his right arm, pointing in an address to the people as an emperor would. This statue had a marble base and was placed at the entrance to the bridge.

 The Right Wing of a Statue of Victory, also from the first century AD, is another noteworthy piece. The Winged Victory figure symbolized many things in Antiquity. For example, military triumph, glory to the Empire and prosperity. The detailed work on both sides of the wing indicates that the work would have been seen from an elevated position.

 The third figure is a restored bronze head. The recovered cranium is made up of eight fragments and recreates the upper part of the face including the eyes, nose and part of the skull. The head has been identified as young Valentinian I, though some scholars believe that it is the head of Valens, his brother and Co-Emperor.

 The show is enhanced by a video narrated by Silvia Orlandi, Professor of Latin Epigraphy at Sapienza University. Professor Orlandi tells the story of the bridge and the statues to give the viewer a more complete picture of the history.

 The remains of the bridge were discovered in 1878 during work on the banks of the Tiber. After a massive flood in Dec. 1870 that submerged a third of the city, the newly unified country built a massive embankment on each side of the river. The walls stand about 40 feet high and stretch for five miles. The work was completed from 1876 to 1926.

 The National Roman Museum, Palazzo Massimo was originally built in 1887 and designed by Camillo Pistrucci in a neo 16^th century style. The Italian state acquired the palazzo in 1981 and opened the building as a museum in 1995. The building houses many masterpieces from Ancient Rome including mosaics, sculpture and painting from the Villa di Livia at Prima Porta and Villa della Farnesina.

 The show will run from Dec. 4 to April 12, located at Palazzo Massimo, Largo di Villa Peretti, 2. The display is included in the price of admission for Palazzo Massimo, and tickets can be purchased online or at the museum.