A city within a city: the hidden life of Rome's Tiber river – in pictures

Ponte Principe Amedeo. Illegal street vendors hide from police under the bridge. All photographs: Luigi Pastoressa

Near Ponte Sant’Angelo. Vast amounts of rubbish are thrown into the Tiber river every day

The cycle lane between Ponte Regina Margherita and Ponte Palatino seems to be the only part of the left bank which is regularly cleaned. The river is isolated from the city by walls built as flood defences in the 19th century

Near Ponte Sant’Angelo. Anton Khubakov, a Russian painter, at work

Near Ponte Marconi. The ruins of an abandoned factory

Photograph: Luigi Pastoressa

Ponte Regina Margherita. A graffiti artist at work

Ponte Fabricio. Men fish along the banks of the river

Ponte Duca d’Aosta. The are 35 bridges over the Tiber. Many homeless people take shelter there

Ponte Mazzini. Jacob is Polish and is 30 years old. He used to work in a restaurant in the city centre but it closed and he found himself on the street

Ponte Mazzini. Jacob’s kitchen. He says he has been living under the bridge for about six months

Rivotril packet. Rivotril capsules contain benzodiazepine – a sedative. They calm anxiety and produce a hypnotic effect

Near Ponte Regina Margherita. A drug addict shooting up heroin on the stairs leading to the river bank

Near Ponte dell’Industria. Since the death of her mother in 2006, 66-year-old Laura says she has been living on the streets under the protection of God, who she calls Dad. In December 2013 she built a more comfortable shelter near the river bank

Near Ponte dell’Industria. The entrance to Laura’s home

Near Ponte Regina Margherita. Reading a book next to the river