The Tiber Island

Among the innumerable surprises that the capital offers its visitors there is one particularly fascinating one, the Tiber Island, a tiny urban island, said by some to be the smallest inhabited island in the world, rising from the waters of the Tiber in the center of Rome. Just over 300 meters long and no more than 90 meters wide, the island is connected to the rest of the city by two bridges: towards Trastevere by the Cestius Bridge, with its central archway dating from 46 B.C.; and towards the Ghetto by the Fabricius Bridge, dating from 62 B.C.

There are many legends related to the origin of this small island, the most famous of which is the one related to the cult of the god of medicine Aesculapius, whose snake, brought to Rome from Epidaurus to eradicate the plague of 293 B.C., jumped from the ship carrying it at the height of Tiber Island, disappearing later at the site where a temple dedicated to Aesculapius was built and the island itself was arranged architecturally as a ship.

Above the ruins of the temple of Aesculapius in the 10th century the Basilica of St. Bartholomew was built, which preserves a 12th-century Romanesque bell tower and the columns of the temple. Also on the island are: the Church of St. John Calibita, of very ancient origin, which stands on the site of another shrine, the sacellum of “Iuppiter Iurarius”; Fatebenefratelli Hospital, established in 1584 and still active today; and one of the three sites of the Israelite Hospital.

During summer evenings, Tiber Island comes alive with stalls and lots of events. Since 1995 the island has hosted the famous festival “L’Isola del Cinema,” one of the most popular cultural and artistic events of the Roman summer.