Porto di Ripetta

The Porto di Ripetta was a port in the city of Rome. It was situated on the banks of the River Tiber and was designed and built in 1704 by the Italian Baroque architect Alessandro Specchi. Located in front of the church of San Girolamo degli Schiavoni, its low walls with steps descended in sweeping scenographic curves from the street to the river. The port no longer exists but is known from engraved views, drawings and early photographs.[1]

Photograph of the port in 1865

Situated on the left bank of the Tiber (as facing south), this was the place to alight for those coming downriver; the Porto di Ripa Grande on the other bank in Trastevere served those coming up from the seaward side of the city.[2]

During the second half of the 19th century, the river banks and roads along the Tiber were radically reconstructed to improve the city's flooding defences and its transport connections. The new road on the left bank is called Lungotevere.

In the area of the Porto di Ripetta, an iron bridge was constructed between 1877-1879 across the Tiber and adjacent to the port. This in turn led to the construction of another more substantial bridge, the Ponte Cavour, which was opened in 1901, and the Porto di Ripetta was demolished. Photographs from the late nineteenth century record the port, the iron bridge and the new Ponte Cavour.[3]