In
ancient Rome, the area belonged to the IX
Augustan region called
Circus Flaminius, that was a part of the
Campus Martius.
Nero built another bridge, that was called
Neronianus or
triumphalis because the
Via Triumphalis, the Triumphal Way, passed over it: starting with
Titus, the victorious
emperors celebrating their
triumphs entered Rome marching through it. Nero's bridge was also called
Pons Vaticanus (English: 'Vatican Bridge'), because it connected the
Ager Vaticanus to the left bank, later
Pons ruptus ('broken bridge'), because it was already ruined in the
Middle Ages. In ancient Rome there was a port that was used to carry the materials for temples and great works to the Campus Martius. The active life of the area went on during the Middle Ages and the modern period, and this activity deleted almost all signs of ancient Rome in the
rione. The population increased because many people moved from the surrounding hills to Ponte, because of the lack of water in other parts of Rome, since it was then possible to drink the water of the
River Tiber. Moreover, the
rione was on the edge of
Ponte Sant'Angelo, thus all the main streets of Rome were leading there and the area was full of pilgrims going to the
Vatican. That is why it was full of inns, restaurants, shops of holy objects, etc. During the 16th century the
rione was very important for its streets, like
Via Giulia and
Via dei Coronari; that is why several palaces of the greatest families of Rome were built according to the projects of famous artists, thus making the area very renowned. A common event in the area was to see a small procession led by a person dressed in black, covering his face, carrying a
crucifix on his shoulders. On a wagon there was a chained condemned man kissing continuously an image of
Jesus. The destination of the procession was the square in front of Ponte Sant'Angelo, where the
gallows were. Although Ponte was a quite rich area, it was the one most affected by the frequent flooding of the River Tiber. The look of the
rione changed completely after Rome became capital of reunited
Italy in 1870: the embankments of the river were built to stop the flooding and new bridges were made to connect
Vatican City and the
rione Prati to the rest of Rome. All the narrow streets leading to the river were lost, to make space for the embankments, but it is still possible to see the typical look of the older
rione in the inner parts of the area. ==Geography==