Ponte Fabricio (Bridge of the Four Heads)

Rom · Italy · Bridge

Four stone heads guard the bridge: the architects who quarrelled their way to the block now stand back to back, forever unable to meet.

Rome's oldest surviving bridge, built in 62 BC, is popularly called Ponte dei Quattro Capi after the two four-faced herms at its parapet. Legend explains them like this: Pope Sixtus V hired four architects to restore the bridge, but they could never agree, quarrelled throughout the work and insulted one another in public. When the job was finished the pope had all four beheaded, and their heads were then carved into the marble — turned away from each other, condemned to stand on the same stone for eternity without ever seeing the other's face. Romans say the quarrel goes on: on foggy nights voices are heard arguing quietly at the parapet, with no way to tell where the sound comes from.

FAQ

Where is Ponte Fabricio (Bridge of the Four Heads) located?

Ponte Fabricio (Bridge of the Four Heads) is in Rom, Italy.

Image: Jastrow / Public domain — Wikimedia Commons