Ponte

Ponte, a word meaning bridge in Italian, Portuguese and Galician languages, may refer to:

Places

England

France

Italy

Ponte (rione of Rome)

Ponte is the fifth rione of Rome, and is located in Municipio I. Its name (meaning "bridge" in Italian) comes from Ponte Sant'Angelo, which connects Ponte with the rione of Borgo. This bridge was built by Emperor Hadrian (and originally named after him Pons Aelius) in 134 AD to connect his mausoleum to the rest of the city. Though Pope Sixtus V changed the rione limits so that the bridge belongs now to Borgo, not to Ponte any more, the area has kept its name. Its logo is obviously a bridge.

In ancient Rome, the area belonged to the IX Augustan region called Circus Flaminius, that was a part of the Campus Martius. Nero built another bridge, that was called Neronianus or triumphalis because the Via Triumphalis, the Triumphal Way, passed over it: Starting with Titus, the victorious Emperors celebrating their Triumphs entered Rome marching through it.

Nero's bridge was also called Pons Vaticanus (meaning "Vatican Bridge" in Latin), because it connected the Ager Vaticanus to the left bank, later Pons ruptus ("broken bridge"), because it was already broken in the Middle Ages. In ancient Rome there was a port that was used to carry the materials for temples and great works to the Campus Martius.

Ponte, Campania

Ponte is the name of a town and comune in the Province of Benevento, Campania Region, Italy. It is a member of the Titerno "Local Action Group" (GAL) and its name means bridge in Italian language.

Geography

The municipality is located some km in north-west of Benevento and borders with Casalduni, Fragneto Monforte, Paupisi, San Lorenzo Maggiore, San Lupo and Torrecuso. It counts 7 little civil parishes (frazioni): Canale, Colli, Ferrarisi, Monte, Piana, Puglia and Staglio.

History

Ponte has its origins in an ancient Roman stone bridge which was the passage of the Via Latina over the Alento river. The first settlements can be traced back to Roman Empire times, in fact it was here that the roadway Via Latina, connecting Benevento with Rome through the Telesia Valley, passed. The bridge that the passed over the Alento river is today known as the St. Anastasia Bridge. The town was very important even during the Lombard domination. The old town is of medieval origin, although little is left of the castle of Norman origin built in the eleventh century CE. There was also a large Benedictine abbey built in the eighth century AD. The territory was ruled by the Count Ranulf Baldwin Norman, who took care of the development, renewing and expanding the ancient church of Denis which he dedicated to St. Benedict. In later times, Ponte belonged to the major families of the Kingdom, such as the Sanframondos, the Carafas, and the Caracciolos, for example. Ponte was a stronghold of the House of Sanframondo, but during this period, due to a plague and a violent earthquake, which devastated a good part of the area, Ponte became uninhabited. In 1585 it was bought by Domenico Sarri, who retained the title of Duke of Ponte until the abolition of the feudal regime. On June 18, 1913, the city was grant autonomy from the frazione of Casalduni.