The remains of an ancient Roman bridge have emerged from the Tiber River in Rome after weeks of virtually no rain drove water levels to a fraction of their seasonal norm. The ruins, located near St Peter's Basilica and the modern Vittorio Emanuele II Bridge, became visible as the river's flow dropped below 80 cubic metres per second — roughly half the historic July average. The bridge last surfaced in 2022.
Commonly known as the Pons Neronianus, or Nero's Bridge, the structure was likely built by Emperor Caligula around 39 AD, not by his nephew Nero as its name suggests. It linked the city centre to the right bank of the Tiber, passing near the Circus of Nero and the villa of Agrippina, before falling into disuse by the early third century.
Antonella Bonini of Rome's heritage authority noted the bridge reappears whenever the Tiber's level drops significantly.