View of Corso di Francia from Ponte Milvio
When looking for an escape from the center, sometimes it’s best to head toward one of Rome’s best crudy old bridges – Ponte Milvio. But hey, Rome’s got a lot of those, so what’s the significance of this one, you might ask?
Well, for one it connects to a swanky, fun, and less touristy district in Flaminio, with cool bars and nice chill out spots crowded with Roman yuppies and executives eager to get away from the touristy Centro Storico.
The second reason why Ponte Milvio is cool, is that this is the origin where the whole business of couples hanging locks along bridges and throwing the key behind them into the river (Tiber in this case) started, apparently thanks to the book by Federico Moccia called “Ho voglia di te”.
This phenomenon has become really popular, to the annoyance of city officials, because the locks can be quite an eyesore, and even cause some form of trouble, like causing a lamppost thronged with locks to partially collapse.
Part of the reason why it’s not touristy is that this area isn’t exactly easy to access via metro (one can get off at Ottaviano and hop on bus 32 up to the area). Another is that there ain’t any grandiose monuments or whatsoever nearby — though one could catch a glimpse of the Stadio Olimpico and pay a visit to the architectural beauty of the MAXXI museum close by, or swing by Nevi di Latte on Via Poletti (behind the MAXXI) for some pretty awesome gelato.
The area around Ponte Milvio is a great place to chill out with friends after a crappy day at work. Check it out sometime!
