Italy’s worst drought in 70 years has exposed the piers of an ancient bridge over the Tiber River once used by Roman emperors but which fell into disrepair by the third century.

Tiber Island and Fabricius Bridge on the river Tiber. Getty Images A river may run through its ancient heart, yet Rome’s citizens don’t think much of their answer to the Seine.

ROME (AP) — A blaze, possibly sparked by a gas canister explosion, destroyed part of an historic bridge spanning the Tiber River in Rome before firefighters extinguished the flames early Sunday.