Roman mistery tour step #7 Aesculapius Temple in the Tiberina Island

A legend talk about a ship (in 291 BC)  Rome was suffering a serious epidemic, this shp sailed to Epidaurus, a city sacred to Aesculapius, the most important healing god of Greece, with a commission

Romans asked help to the God but while the propitiatory rites was taking place, a huge snake came out from the temple and it went to take refuge on the Roman ship.

People was sure  Aesculapius turned into a snake, the ship hurried back to Rome but when the ship reached the island, the snake descended into the river and swam to the island Tiberina, where it disappeared, indicating, in this way, the place where the temple should have been built.

The snake

The construction, begun soon after,and the romans inaugurated it in 289.

The position of the temple would coincide with the St. Bartolomeo’s church : the medieval well, which still exists near the altar of the church, it would correspond to the source of the temple.

In memory of the miraculous event, the island took the form of trireme, with a bow, stern and even a mast, originally represented by an obelisk

One of these elements is the so-called "Infamous Column", the priests posted a list with the names of  people these could not attend the Easter Mass.  This custom remained active until 1870.

The water coming from the well was considered miraculous, people went to drink it  in the church .

All this happened until the Middle Ages when the piests analyzed the water and discovered  it was polluted. Water did not heal people but killed them.

The ship

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