AN ITALIAN SILVER-GILT MOUNTED HARDSTONE SNUFF-BOX SET WITH A MICROMOSAIC PLAQUE

The graceful seven-arched bridge of Ponte Lucano stretches across the banks of the Anio River. Dating from the first century BC and extending the ancient consular road of Via Tiburtina, the bridge served the road from Tivoli to Rome until the mid-twentieth century and remained in use to cars until just a few years ago. The bridge forms part of an archaeological landscape that includes the remains of the mausoleum of Plautii, built in the first century BC, and a sixteenth century public inn. It also acts as a gateway to the Villa Adriana, now a world heritage site.