This bridge is the oldest in Rome, connecting the Tiber Island to the Sant’Angelo region. Compared to the Colosseum, this bridge is in impeccable condition, its design may feel like it lacks creativity or flair, but the fact that it has stayed intact since 62 BC is incredible and like all other surviving Roman structures, proves the strength of the Roman minds and materials. The Pons Fabricius is also unique in that it only has two arches to connect the two banks, unseen in other bridges, and possibly the reason behind its success. Due to the bridge’s width (five and a half meters) it is designed for pedestrian use, instead of cars and other vehicles. The name Fabricius comes from Lucius Fabricius, the curator in charge of general roads, and receives credit for having originally built the bridge. A flood in 23 BC rendered the bridge useless until repaired, where the bridge was reinforced with brick. The side of the bridge has an inscription, crediting Lucio Fabrizio with the supervision of the job’s execution. Even though it required one major repair, the Pons Fabricius still has a better record than other buildings that were either damaged by natural causes like earthquakes, to man-made causes like fires and plundering.

          There are herms, or stone columns with heads on top of them, on each end of the bridge, and it is said that the four heads that decorate these herms are the heads of architects that worked on the restoration, those that added brick to the bridge. The belief is that they got into a disagreement with the Pope about the bridge, and they were beheaded. Because this bridge is made out of stone and other masonry, it was impossible to think about the bending of materials, so the Romans were restricted to steel and reinforced concrete. The small arch in the middle of the bridge is important for two reasons, its importance for preventing floods from crashing into the wall, and instead provides a path so that it can travel through smoothly, and also reduces weight of the bridge, giving the middle pier an easy job. To summarize, this bridge deserves an actual place on this list because of its condition, importance in travel and efficiency, and overall, age. No other surviving bridge in Rome is as old as the Pons Fabricius, and that itself is an achievement.