Tiber Island

The only island in the Tiber within the city, just over three hundred metres long. In 291 BC a temple to Aesculapius, god of medicine, was built here: the island has never stopped healing since, and still houses a hospital today. It is joined to the bank by the Ponte Fabricio of 62 BC, the oldest bridge in Rome still in use with its original structure.

Did you know: On the downstream side you can still see, carved in travertine, a ship's prow with the staff of Aesculapius: the Romans clad the island so that it really looked like the ship that had brought the god. In summer the banks below host an open-air cinema.

✦ The legend: Two legends, one about its origin and one about the hospital. The first says the island was formed from the sheaves of King Tarquin the Proud, thrown into the Tiber by the people after his expulsion and piling up there until they made land. The second tells that in 291 BC the Romans went to Epidaurus seeking Aesculapius against a plague: a sacred serpent boarded the ship of its own accord, and on the way back slipped into the water and swam to this very island. There they built the temple.