Just throw the key away...

The Ponte Milvio - almost flooded in these pictures! - the oldest bridge still standing in Rome (built in 206 BC), has seen a few sites in its time: it was well-known in ancient Rome as a haunt for prostitutes and was the site of Constantine's great victory over his rival Maxentius; this is the battle, on the eve of which, Constantine is supposed to have had the vision which caused him to convert to Christianity. Nowadays the bridge is famous for an altogether more romantic ritual. From all over Italy young lovers and newlyweds come to symbolically 'lock' themselves to each other by chaining a padlock daubed with their names onto the bridge and flinging the key into the Tiber.



This is something of a recent tradition, popularised by a novel and then a film, but so large were the number of padlocks chained to the bridge that several street lamps actually collapsed under their weight. The authorities - accused of being 'anti-love' by many - have now introduced a series of chain fences along the bridge for a more controlled brand of celebration.


Here's Ben, pondering whether he can just keep hold of the key and fling the Winston into the Tiber...