Roman bridge Spazio Aemilia 187 b. C.
Sottopassaggio Ponte Romano - 43121 - Parma (PR)
Opening times
every day from 8am to 8pm
Prices
free entrance
The bridge in masonry, called Pons Lapidis, was built in Augustan period. With its eleven dissimilar arcades it used to be 140 meters long. Today only the foundations conglomerate remains from the original construction.
Half-destroyed by floods, it was rebuilt by Teodorico in 493AD with various materials. In 1177, a great flood diverted the waters from the west Parma areas, leaving the bridge area all dry.
Some of the houses built above it, were demolished by Pier Luigi Farnese in 1547, because they obstructed the Via Emilia.
The two arcades have been brought to light again during the restoring works of the Piazza Ghiaia underpass construction (1966). The requalification project of the Roman bridge and the subsequent creation of Aemilia 187 b.C. space is part of an urban regeneration process. It has now become an exhibition space and a university hub, a place dedicated to the diffusion of an important cultural production generated by the local University.
In the spaces of the underpass will be on display over 260 archaeological evidences found during the excavations of the works on Piazza Ghiaia and selected by the near Archaeological museum, among which can be seen architectural fragments of significative dimensions as the military decorations and the Corinthian capitals from the 1st and 2nd centuries a.C.
Spazio Aemilia 187 b.C., enriched with descriptive panels and photo documents, provides an explanation of the local history, of the Roman colony of Parma through objects and lifestyles of its old inhabitants, thanks to the archaeological relics of remarkable scientific relevance.
