Ponte Sant'Angelo
Encyclopedia
Ponte Sant'Angelo, once the Aelian Bridge or Pons Aelius, meaning the Bridge of Hadrian, is a Roman bridge
Roman bridge
Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....

 in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...

, to span the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...

, from the city center to his newly constructed mausoleum, now the towering Castel Sant'Angelo
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...

. The bridge is faced with travertine marble and spans the Tiber with three arches; it was approached by means of ramp from the river. The bridge is now solely pedestrian, and provides a photogenic vista of the Castel Sant'Angelo. It links the rioni
Rione
Rione is the name given to a ward in several Italian cities, the best-known of which is Rome. Unlike a quartiere, a rione is usually an official administrative subdivision...

 of Ponte
Ponte (rione of Rome)
Ponte is the fifth rione of Rome. Its name comes from Ponte Sant'Angelo, which connects Ponte with the rione of Borgo. This bridge was built by Emperor Hadrian in 134 AD to connect his mausoleum to the rest of the city...

 (which was named after the bridge itself), and Borgo
Borgo (rione of Rome)
Borgo , is the 14th historic district of Rome, Italy. It lies on the west bank of the Tiber, and has a trapezoidal shape. Its coat of arms shows a lion , lying in front of three mounts and a star...

.

History

In times past, pilgrims used this bridge to reach St Peter's Basilica, hence it was known also with the name of "bridge of Saint Peter" (pons Sancti Petri). In the seventh century, under Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...

, both the castle and the bridge took on the name Sant'Angelo, explained by a legend that an angel appeared on the roof of the castle to announce the end of the plague. During the 1450 jubilee, balustrades of the bridge yielded, due to the great crowds of the pilgrims, and many drowned in the river. In response, some houses at the head of the bridge as well as a Roman triumphal arch were pulled down in order to widen the route for pilgrims.

For centuries after the 16th century, the bridge was used to expose the bodies of the executed. In 1535, Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...

 allocated the toll income of the bridge to erecting the statues of the apostles saint Peter and Saint Paul to which subsequently the four evangelists and the patriarchs were added to other representing statues Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. In 1669 Pope Clement IX
Pope Clement IX
Pope Clement IX , born Giulio Rospigliosi, was Pope from 1667 to 1669.-Early life:Born Giulio Rospigliosi to a noble family of Pistoia, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, he was a pupil of the Jesuits. After receiving his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Pisa, he taught theology there...

 commissioned replacements for the aging stucco angels by Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo , born Raffaele Sinibaldi, was a sculptor and architect of the Italian Renaissance, and an apprentice of Michelangelo. He was the son of another Italian sculptor, Baccio da Montelupo...

, commissioned by Paul III. Bernini's program, one of his last large projects, called for ten angels holding instruments of the Passion: he personally only finished the two originals of the Angels with the Superscription "I.N.R.I." and with the Crown of Thorns, but these were kept by Clement IX for his own pleasure. They are now in the church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte
Sant'Andrea delle Fratte
Sant'Andrea delle Fratte is a 17th-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St. Andrew. The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Andreae Apostoli de Hortis is Ennio Antonelli....

, also in Rome.

List of angels

  1. Angel with the Column (Throne) (Antonio Raggi
    Antonio Raggi
    Antonio Raggi , also called Antonio Lombardo, was a sculptor of the Roman Baroque, originating from Ticino.-Biography:He was born in Vico Morcote on the Lake Lugano. His mentor in Rome for nearly three decades was Gianlorenzo Bernini...

    , inscription "Tronus meus in columna").
  2. Angel with the Whips (Lazzaro Morelli
    Lazzaro Morelli
    Lazzaro Morelli was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period. Born in Ascoli Piceno, the son of the Florentine sculptor Fulgenzio Morelli, who also trained Lazzaro's cousin, the artist Giuseppe Giosafatti...

    , inscription "In flagella paratus sum").
  3. Angel with the Crown of Thorns (Bernini and son Paolo, now in church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte
    Sant'Andrea delle Fratte
    Sant'Andrea delle Fratte is a 17th-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St. Andrew. The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Andreae Apostoli de Hortis is Ennio Antonelli....

    . Copy on the bridge by Paolo Naldini (inscription "In aerumna mea dum configitur spina").
  4. Angel with the Sudarium (Veronica’s Veil) (Cosimo Fancelli
    Cosimo Fancelli
    Cosimo Fancelli was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. He was the son of the artist Carlo Fancelli from Arezzo. Like his brother, the sculptor Giacomo Antonio Fancelli, he began his career as an assistant in the studio of Bernini...

    , Respice faciem Christi tui)http://www.joemckee.com/rome/angel.html.
  5. Angel with the Garment and Dice (Paolo Naldini, inscription "super vestimentum meum miserunt sortem").
  6. Angel with the Nail (Girolamo Lucenti
    Girolamo Lucenti
    Girolamo Lucenti was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period, active in Rome.He initially trained with Alessandro Algardi, and at Algardi's death was one of the four giovani who shared the studio, but later also worked for Algardi's rival, Bernini...

    , inscription "Aspicient ad me quem confixerunt").
  7. Angel with the Cross (Ercole Ferrata
    Ercole Ferrata
    Ercole Ferrata was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque.-Biography:A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants...

    , registration "Cuius principatus super humerum eius").
  8. Angel with the Superscription (Copy by Giulio Cartari (inscription "Regnavit a ligno deus").
  9. Angel with the Sponge (with vinegar) (Antonio Giorgetti
    Antonio Giorgetti
    Antonio Giorgetti was an Italian sculptor who passed his career in Rome, a disciple of Gian Lorenzo Bernini...

    , inscription "Potaverunt me aceto").
  10. Angel with the Lance (Domenico Guidi
    Domenico Guidi
    Domenico Guidi was a prominent Italian Baroque sculptor.Born in Carrara, Guidi followed his uncle, the prominent sculptor, Giuliano Finelli to Naples. As the nephew of a sculptor noted for his feud with Bernini, it is not surprising that Guidi was never employed by the eminent master...

    , inscription "Vulnerasti cor meum").


Of the statues on bridge prior to Bernini's update, only those of the two apostles, Saint Peter and Paul, remain.


External links

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