Along the Via Tiburtina, one encounters the Lucano Bridge that spans the Aniene River 24 kilometers from Rome, not far from the Villa Adriana.
The name (it was also called Logano or Lugano) comes from the wealthy Tiburtine Marcus Plautius Silvanus (or Lucanus), who in the time of Augustus wanted, at that precise spot on the left bank of the Aniene River, to erect his family’s tomb: the Tomb of the Plautii.
Originally the bridge had five arches, lined with travertine, of which the central one was wider than the others to accommodate the greater flow of water.
Three are clearly visible today, as the others are partially buried.
It was destroyed by Totila in 547 AD during the Gothic Wars, as Procopius narrates, and was restored by Narses around 560 AD.
The bridge was extensively restored in 1835, under the pontificate of Gregory XVI.
Near the bridge stood a landing place from where travertine destined for Rome was embarked.
The Rome-Tivoli tramway, a suburban line with a steam-powered locomotive, ran over this bridge from 1879 to 1934.
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