Ponte Milvio — Attraction in Rome

Walking around the bridge and felling to hear the sound of the water while the reflection of the sun warms your cheeks, to see the people who practice sports, the cafés full of people talking to each other, who is alone to enjoy the wonderful day, who walks with the dog, we come to spend a pleasant moment here where once the camps were completed the Victories of Constantine. The resources of Maxentius, both of men and money, were still considerable. The Praetorian Guards felt how strongly their own interest and safety were connected, more numerous than those which had been lost in the stranger to the exercises of war. Before Maxentius left Rome he consulted the Sibylline books. The guardians of these ancient oracles were as well versed in the arts of this world as they were ignorant of the secrts of fate; and they returned him a very prudent answer, which might adapt itself to the event and secure their reputation whatever should be the chance of arms. The celerity of Constantine's march has been compared to the rapid conquest of Italy by the first of the Caesars. Constantine had always apprehended that the tyrant would consult the dictates of fear and perhaps of prudence, and that, instead of risking his last hopes on a general engagement, he would shut himself up within the walls of Rome. The Praetorians, conscious that their repeated efforts, those brave veterans were unable to recover the victory, however, an honourable death; and it was observed that their bodies covered the same ground which had been occupied by their ranks. The confussion them became general, and the dismayed troops of Maxentius, pursued by an implacable enemy, rushed by thousands into the deep and rapid stream of the Tiber. The emperor himself attempted to escape back into the city over the Milvian bridge, but the crowds which pressed togheter through that narrow passage forced him into the river, where he was immediately drowned by the weight of his armour. His body, which had sunk very deep into the mud, was found with some difficulty the next day. The sight of his head, when it was exposed to the eyes of the people, convinced them of their deliverance and admonished them to receive with acclamations of loyalty and gratitude the fortunate Constantine, who thus achieved by his valour and ability the most splendid enterprise...

Milvian bridge. What can I say? I already knew by reading previous reviews that it was going to be a waste of time but I needed to see it for myself. It was a complete waste of time but it’s out of my system now so I’m glad I went and now I won’t have to ever go back. I don’t know why I expected the surrounding area to be open ground like a battlefield but it’s obviously not. It’s all apartment buildings with a few shops/cafes. There’s a church straight facing the bridge but it’s very modern inside and not very impressive. The bridge itself although very old is not much to look at. There are a couple of statues on the bridge, one of the Virgin Mary and one of St John nepomuk who (according to Google) is the patron saint of those in danger of drowning, which I suppose is kind of appropriate but I would rather see a statue of Constantine. There’s not a single inscription and no reference to him whatsoever which I thought was a massive missed opportunity for the city of Rome. As I said there are a couple of coffee shops so I bought a drink and sat on a bench and read my book for half an hour and then took a walk to piazza del popolo, which is the nearest place that a tourist might want to go. I did spend half an hour waiting for the bus but when it came it drove straight past so I decided to walk. It took me 40 minutes to walk via Flaminio which is just one straight road from the bridge all the way to piazza del popolo and there wasn’t anything to...

A lovely place with intense night life made horrible by locals - who seem unable to behave in a civilized and well mannered way.

To start with, most people won’t even consider driving an extra 100 meters to park their car in a place where it doesn’t bother others - let go in a legal spot. Make sure you don’t mention this to them unless you want to start a fight: this particularly applies to teenagers with tiny cars that they modified (illegally of course) so that they are a little faster, considerably more dangerous and significantly louder - #arrogancewithoutlimits

Traffic is horrible, partly due to the arrogance of those who park everywhere and partly due to the arrogance of those who believe they are entitled to drive “in a smart way” because rules only apply to silly people and they are in a hurry.

Because this place is so jampacked with people, businesses act rude, with very few exceptions.

Policemen should be here in full force, but the major of the town wont do anything. Which happens to be twice as ridiculous because a big police station is located right here. Romans do indeed have the major they voted... and that they deserve.

Do avoid it by all means when AS Roma or Lazio are...