The Bridge was built to allow the crossing of the Tiber to Pope Sixtus IV between 1473 and 1479, on the site of a more ancient Roman bridge. In 147 the Bridge was extensively restored under Antoninus Pius, with the names of Aurelio Bridge: in this era had a triumphal arch surmounted by a large bronze statues, whose remains were with dedicatory inscriptions were found in the Tiber between 1878 and 1892, and they are kept at the National Roman Museum. Under Pope Sixtus IV, began the reconstruction of the ancient Roman Bridge, headed by Giorgio Vasari: the Bridge has four arches and has a round hole on the central pillar, the so-called "occhialone", considered a sign of full.