Seventy-seven lbs of gold sleeping in the bottom of the Tiber for centuries.
Who will be good at finding them?
The Tiber, after having driven Rome's rise to the role of planetary power for centuries, was practically abandoned in the Middle Ages.
No longer came from all over the world, loaded with precious goods, the merchant ships, which, had given way to pirates who infested the Mediterranean.
However, Romans were still waiting to see ancient treasures emerge.
It was thought that the Tiber would return those treasures to those who had sought them with constancy and determination.
Over the centuries, this hope was nourished and confirmed by a large amount of findings: marble works, coins, ancient weapons ...
For centuries, the "river seeker" was a real job.
Many churches, in Rome and in the world, are rich in precious pieces "fished out" in the Tiber.
However, one of the most famous legends about the mysterious treasures kept in the Tiber, is that of the presence in his bed of the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum of the Temple of Jerusalem, which the Romans took possession of in the sacking of 70 AD.
It was solid gold made, weighed about 77 lbs., And remained visible in Rome in the Temple of Peace until the second century AD.
It is believed that it was robbed in the fifth century by the Vandals of Genserico.
Where is it now?
There are various theories about it, but the most credited is the one which the Roman people have handed down for centuries: the ancient and precious Menorah has been lying for centuries on the Tiber riverbed, between the Tiber Island and Ponte Rotto (the Broken Bridge)
In the mid-eighteenth century, the Jewish Community of Rome asked for permission to dig the Tiber bed in search of the precious object of worship.
In the nineteenth century, Giuseppe Naro dredged the Tiber, with the permission of Pope Pius VII, on board a special ship, with which he "fished" 44 precious findings near the Tiber Island, among which, however, there wasn't any golden candlestick.
On September 10, 1830, the poetry of the great Giuseppe Gioachino Belli tells the story in this graceful sonnet (unfortunately not translatable into English, but it is still a good opportunity to appreciate the writing and sound of the old vernacular language of Rome):
"I'm cornacope on my shoulders at that
Who lives next to that cave that goes ahead,
He has ssei arms ppiù llonghi, and all of them
Tiengheno in between a half ring arm;
That is er great Cannelabbro de Sdraello,
That Mmosè got angry with so many and so many
Idols of gold that ssu ddu 'lionfanti
If he brought vvia to Eggitto cor brother.
Mó nnun there is more I'm Cannelabbro ar monno.
For èsse, sc'è; but a dog enjoys it,
Why is ggiù in ner river a ffonno a ffonno.
Did you know where did you stay?
Viscino in Ponte-broken; and if they do,
If he pulls up for a piece of bread "
The most advanced aerospace technologies could, today, help to understand if the ancient legends have a background of truth.
With the help of satellites, in fact, today it is possible to locate sunken objects even hundreds feet below the surface of water, and no larger than a very common melon.
Basterebbe volerlo, o, per dirla con Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, “ssi lo vonno…”
