Rome - Tiber Island Isola Tiberine

A Roman legend has it that the Tiber Island was formed when, at some time in the distant past, a heavy laden ship sank in mid stream; and indeed the island has something of the air of a huge vessel stranded in the Tiber. The obelisk which once stood on the island must in its day have looked like a mast. Another explanation, based on historical grounds, is that the island was formed by an accumulation of silt produced by waste from cargoes of corn after the expulsion of the Tarquins. About 200 B.C. there was a sanctuary of the healing god Aesculapius and his sacred snakes on the island where, according to another legend, the god's boat had once called in.