Bike the Tiber
When you walk along the typical sidewalk stones in the eternal city these days, you might just discover the newly-painted demarcation lines of a scenic bike path par excellence: The pista ciclabile along the west bank of the Tiber. The Tiber is the eternal city’s eternal river and it winds through the heart of the “urbs aeterna” metropolis like the ancient umbilical cord it is. Rome was born along the banks of this river, but for the longest of more recent times, the Tiber has been treated more like a sewer than the important and beautiful river it is. After all, the Tiber filled ancient Rome’s aqueducts with drinking and bathing water, supplied its population with fish, powered its mills and even brought people and commerce into the city. Somehow ignored and forgotten, its importance throughout Roman history was sadly disregarded by the world culture that has inherited it.
But the life’s blood of the city is getting a little more deserved attention these days. Roman officials recently opened a new bike path along the Tiber’s beautiful banks and this new pista ciclabile’s popularity with tourists and natives alike is becoming more and more apparent all the time. You can begin your journey at the bridge Ponte Subicio, roughly one kilometer south of Tiber Island, Isola Tiberina. Heading north along the west bank of the river, you will soon pass the remnants of the old Ripa harbor. And you also won’t fail to notice that a metamorphosis is now taking place. What might that mean? Well, you are now peddling along at about 10 meters under the Roman street level and everything has suddenly taken on a different look and feel. The most striking change is something you hear – or don’t hear, to be exact. Everything around you has suddenly become quiet. All of that notorious Roman street noise has magically disappeared. The giant concrete walls constructed along the banks of the Tiber to keep the city safe from potential floods is also filtering Rome’s perpetual infernal noise out.
But don’t be worried about any flooding, the last devastating flood took place quite a few years back, in 1870, and it was only after this calamity that the river was forced into its present safe, concrete confinement. Another unexpected and yet pleasant change to your perspective when cycling down here is quite literally that, your perspective. You will soon find yourself looking up at, or to, Rome. You will now be seeing all of the monumental structures which are visible from a completely new point of view. And it is an impressive point of view at that.
As you peddle upstream, you will soon reach the Ponte Palatino – the Romans like to refer to it as the English Bridge, however, because the cars travel on the left side here. It gets its real name from the Palatine Hill, of course, which is just a short distance off to the right. According to legend, the Palatine Hill, the city’s centermost of the seven hills, is Rome’s true birthplace. It was here that the Romulus and Remus were found and saved by the she-wolf. But ancient mythology aside, it is also here were recent excavations have dug up artifacts showing that settlements were thriving here around 1000 BC.
It is also here, just below the right bridgehead, where you can find the giant mouth of the Cloaca Maxima, a major element of ancient Rome’s famous sewage system – it is still in use today, I might add. And off to the other end of the Ponte Palatino, just a stone’s throw away from Tiber Island, you can enjoy viewing the beautiful remnants of the Ponte Rotto, “the broken bridge”.
Your next stop will be the Isola Tiberina itself. It is here at Tiber Island that the Ponte Cestio connects this tiny piece of land to the Trastevere quarter over on the west bank – Trastevere being a fine place for finding good and relatively inexpensive restaurants, by the way. Of course there is not much to see on such a small island, you even get the feeling that you’ve somehow stumbled across a small village in the countryside somewhere, but it is the perfect location for a tired biker like yourself to sit down and have a delicious espresso or some refreshing Italian ice cream.
Once you’re back on track again, it’s not far away to your next two bridge stops, the Ponte Garibaldi and the Ponte Sisto. Ponte Sisto was once a favorite location for the brave at heart who would regularly dive into the Tiber for a quick and refreshing swim (no longer recommended toda). The terra-cotta colored buildings along the banks back to the south are stunning in the Roman sunlight as seen from here. And the green sprouting up through the ruins visible in the distance never let you forget where it is that you are.
From here you will pass along (or below) the Lungotevere Fanesina and the Palazzo Farnesina. Having now reached the very heart of Rome, St. Peter’s, the Castel Sant’Angelo and Piazza Navona are all up there waiting for you, a quick walk upstairs. And it is also from here that the pista ciclabile starts winding down and widening out, becoming more of a bike avenue and no longer just a “mere path”. More and more people are now out and about and everything has a much more festive atmosphere.
And what a view! From here, directly behind the Ponte Vitorio Emanuele you have a bird’s eye view of the Castel Sant’Angelo. There are also lots of historical information available here, plaques mostly, informing you about the Tiber’s long history or the stories of the many famous poets who have enjoyed a special relationship with Rome and Italy; Montaigne, Goethe and numerous others.
And from here on out, the beautiful blue Roman sky (or evening sunset) will finish you off – and you won’t mind it one bit. It’s gorgeous here, and it’s no wonder that this final few meters of your journey also happens to be a favorite meeting place for couples hand in hand. You have just ended up at Ponte Risogimento, this is where the official pista ciclabile ends in Rome’s historic center. And now it’s time for you to head back upstairs and into the notorious Roman traffic and crowds with everybody else. And energized as you now are, that’s most certainly a wonderful place to be.
