The New York Times recently ran an article about a new romantic ritual in Rome inspired by Federico Moccia’s recent book, Ho Voglio di Te, and its extremely popular movie adaptation. In the book, a young man wins the heart of a woman by taking her to Rome’s Ponte Milvio (or Milvian Bridge), wrapping a lock and chain symbolic of their love around a lightpost, and throwing the key into the Tiber River.
The invented ritual quickly caught on and young people from across Italy flocked to one of Rome’s oldest bridges to memorialize their own love with a padlock and a thrown-away key. In fact, so many locks appeared on the Ponte Milvio, that their weight caused a light post to collapse, inducing city officials to install steel posts with chains on which locks can be attached without causing damage to the ancient bridge. Though the Ponte Milvio was by far the most popular spot at which to leave a lock, any bridge could do the job in a pinch, and locks started to appear elsewhere, too, such as on the Ponte Cestio leading to Rome’s Tiber Island and on Florence’s Ponte Vecchio. (Though locks still spring up on the Ponte Cestio, they are removed regularly so as not to harm the bridge’s lightposts).
As the New York Times pointed out, such expressions of love are not new to the Ponte Milvio, which is one of Rome’s oldest standing bridges for it was first constructed in 206 BC. Tacitus, the first-century Roman historian and statesman, reported that even in his time it was “famous for its nocturnal attractions.” The Emperor Nero, Tacitus said, visited the bridge “for his debaucheries.” (It is also the place where in 312, Constantine defeated his rival Maxentius. He became the first emperor to convert to Christianity.)
The bridge today is a hangout for Rome’s youth. Covered in graffiti (most of it having to do with love), it provides a place for those who still live with their parents to socialize, to drink, and to smoke pot. But the popularity of the lock ritual means that the bridge is now also filled with those who come to leave a tangible sign of their emotional commitment to one another (as well as tourists who come to see the thousands of locks that line the edges of the bridge). Many lovers bring carefully decorated locks with them; they often glue photos to them or write their names upon them. And those unfortunate lovers who arrive lockless are assisted in their efforts to declare their amorous attachments by a fleet of lock-sellers who, taking advantage of the new fad, have set up makeshift stalls on the bridge.
If you’re not planning a trip to Rome but still want to declare your love, you can attach a virtual lock to the virtual Ponte Milvio by visiting this site.
Update August 21, 2007: Today a cartoon about the Ponte Milvio locks by Carol Lay on Salon.com.
