Isola Tiberina

Isola Tiberina Review

Unless you're sick or need to pray, this tiny island in the Tiber is easy to overlook. In terms of history and sheer picturesqueness, however, this most charming of Rome's backwaters gets high marks.

Cross onto the island via Ponte Fabricio, constructed in 62 BC, the oldest bridge in the city; on the north side of the Isola is the romantic ruin of the Ponte Rotto (Broken Bridge), which dates back to 179 BC.

Descend the steps down to the lovely river embankment to see the island's claim to fame—a Roman relief of Aesculapius, the great god of healing. In 291 BC a temple to Aesculapius—whose sign was a snake—was erected on the island, and thereby hangs a tale.

A ship had been sent to Epidaurus in Greece—heart of the cult of Aesculapius—to obtain a statue of the god.

As the ship sailed back up the Tiber, a great serpent was seen escaping from it and swimming to the island—a sign that a temple to Aesculapius should be built here.

In imperial times, Romans sheathed the entire island with marble to make it look like Aesculapius's ship, replete with a towering obelisk as a mast.

The ancient sculpted ship's prow amazingly still exists—marvel at it on the downstream end of the embankment.

Today, medicine still reigns here—the island is home to the hospital of Fatebenefratelli (literally, "Do good, brothers"). Nearby is San Bartolomeo, built at the end of the 10th century by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III and restored in the 18th century.

TIPS

Sometimes called the world's most beautiful movie theater, the open-air Cinema d'Isola di Tiberina operates from mid-June to early September as part of Rome's big summer festival called Estate Romana (www.estateromana.comune.roma.it/). The 450-seat Arena Maxischermo unfolds its silver screen against the backdrop of the ancient Ponte Fabricio bridge while the 50-seat CineLab is set against Ponte Garibaldi facing Trastevere. Screenings usually start at 7:30 and admission is around €5. Line up at the kiosk of "La Gratachecca del 1915" (near the Ponte Cestio) for the most yumptious frozen ices in Rome.