Tiber Island is the only river island in the stretch of the Tiber River that passes through Rome.
The island is shaped like a boat, approximately 270 meters long and 67 meters wide, and has been connected to the two banks of the river by bridges since ancient times: the Ponte Cestio toward Trastevere, dating back to 46 BC, and the Ponte Fabricio toward the Ghetto, built in 62 BC.

On the island, following the spread of a serious plague in the city, a large temple dedicated to the god Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine, was erected in 291 BC. The area around the temple became a place for the care of the sick.
Over the centuries, the island has retained this characteristic of a place dedicated to the care of the sick: the Fatebenefratelli Hospital, founded in 1584, and the Israelite Hospital are still located on the island.
The remains of the imposing Temple of Aesculapius were recently discovered in the basement of the Church of San Bartolomeo on Tiber Island, beneath the oldest levels of the church. The Basilica of San Bartolomeo, dating back to the year 1000, today houses the memorials and relics of the "new martyrs" of the 20th century.

Opposite the island, you can admire the remains of the ancient Pons Aemilius, known as the Ponte Rotto, attributed to Manlius Aemilius Lepidus and built around 241 BC. It was the first masonry bridge in Rome and also the longest. It had a troubled history: it was swept away by the fury of the Tiber more than once and rebuilt. Today, only one of the three sixteenth-century arches remains from the last reconstruction, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni in 1573 and commemorated by a clearly legible inscription, as well as bas-reliefs with dragons that recall the papal coat of arms.
"AVCTORITATE GREGORII XIII PONT. MAX S.P.Q.R. PONTEM SENATORIVM CVIVS ​​FORNICES VETVSTATE COLLAPSOS ET IAMPRIDEM REFECTOS FLVMINIS IMPETVS DENVO DEIECERAT IN PRISTINAM FIRMITATEM AC PVLCHRITVDINEM RESTITVIT ANNO IVBILAEI MDLXXV»
«At the behest of Pope Gregory XIII, the Municipality of Rome in the jubilee year 1575 restored the Ponte Senatorio to its original strength and beauty, whose arches, which had fallen due to antiquity and had already previously been restored, had once again been knocked down by the force of the river».