Lock your Love in Ponte Milvio

The Ponte Milvio or Ponte Molle is one of the most important bridges over the Tiber in Rome.

The bridge was built by consul Gaius Claudius Nero in 206 BC, after he had defeated the Carthaginan army in the Battle of the Metaurus. In 115 BC, consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus built a new bridge made of stone in the same position, demolishing the old one. In 312, Constantine I defeated his stronger rival Maxentius between this bridge and Saxa Rubra, in the famous Battle of Milvian Bridge.

During the Middle Ages, the bridge was renovated by a monk named Acuzio, and in 1429 Pope Martin V asked a famous architect, Francesco da Genazzano, to repair the collapsing bridge. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the bridge was modified by two artists, Valadier and Pigiani.

In late 2006, the bridge began attracting couples, who use a lampost on the bridge to hang padlocks as a sign of their love.

The ritual involves the couple locking the padlock to the lampost, then throwing the key behind them into the Tiber.

Today the pedestrian bridge is close to the Olympic stadium — a soccer battleground — north of the city's historical center.

The idea of the love locks is not new in Italy. But Ponte Milvio owes its new reputation mainly due to two novels depicting the love of Roman teenagers.

The books have sold a combined 2.5 million copies and were both made into movies.  It's the sequel to the incredibly successful "Tre Metri Sopra il Cielo."

Such huge attention also caused some undesired consequences. Hundreds of locks were stolen last week — although they were found the following day and are to be put back in a ceremony expected to draw the city's mayor.

A check ordered by city officials showed the locks posed no threat to the stability of the lamppost.

 But officials are looking for an alternative site amid fears the bridge may be damaged. One possibility is to put up a "lovers' lamppost" in a square near the bridge.

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Tiber from the Bridge

Ponte Milvio

Photos of Ponte Milvio

View from the bridge

Locks on Ponte Milvio

Other Photos of Ponte Milvio

Ancient Paint of The Bridge in Ponte Milvio

The Column Lamp on Ponte Milvio O Ponte Mollo Rome