Ponte Sant'Angelo

Ponte Sant'Angelo, once the Aelian Bridge or "Pons Aelius" meaning the "Bridge of Hadrian", is a bridge in Rome, constructed between 134-139 by Roman Emperor Hadrian, to span the Tiber, from the city center to his newly constructed mausoleum, now the towering Castel Sant'Angelo. 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 of Ponte (which was named after the bridge itself), and Borgo.

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, 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 sixteenth century, the bridge was used to expose the bodies of the executed. In 1535, Pope Clement VII 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 commissioned replacements for the aging stucco angels by Raffaello da Montelupo, commisioned 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, also in Rome.

List of angels

#"Angel with the Column (Throne)" (Antonio Raggi, inscription "Tronus meus in columna"). [My throne is upon a column]
#"Angel with the Whips" (Lazzaro Morelli, inscription "In flagella paratus sum"). [I am ready for the whip (Ps. 37:18, Sixto-Clementine Vulgate Ed.)]
# [http://gallery.euroweb.hu/html/b/bernini/gianlore/sculptur/1660/angel2.html| Angel with the Crown of Thorns] (Bernini and son Paolo, now in church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte. Copy on the bridge by Paolo Naldini (inscription "In aerumna mea dum configitur spina"). [ [I am twisted] In my affliction, whilst the thorn is fastened upon me. (Ps. 31:4, Sixto-Clementine Vulgate Ed.)]
#" [http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/f/fancelli/angel.html| Angel with the Sudarium (Veronica’s Veil)] " (Cosimo Fancelli, "Respice faciem Christi tui") [http://www.joemckee.com/rome/angel.html] . [Look upon the face of Thy Christ]
#"Angel with the Garment and Dice" (Paolo Naldini, inscription "super vestimentum meum miserunt sortem"). [Upon my vesture they cast lots. (Ps. 21:19)]
#"Angel with the Nail" (Girolamo Lucenti, inscription "Aspicient ad me quem confixerunt"). [They shall look upon me whom they have pierced (Zech. 12:10)]
#"Angel with the Cross" (Ercole Ferrata, registration "Cuius principatus super humerum eius"). [Whose government shall be upon His shoulder (Isa. 9:6)]
#" [http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/b/bernini/gianlore/sculptur/1660/angel1.html| Angel with the Superscription] " (Copy by Giulio Cartari (inscription "Regnavit a ligno deus"). [God has reigned from the Tree [of the Cross] ]
#"Angel with the Sponge (with vinegar)" (Antonio Giorgetti, inscription "Potaverunt me aceto"). [They gave me vinegar to drink (Ps. 68:22)]
#"Angel with the Lance" (Domenico Guidi, inscription "Vulnerasti cor meum"). [Thou hast ravished my heart]

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

Notes

Further reading

* Colin O'Connor, Roman Bridges, Cambridge Univ. Press (1994) ISBN 0-521-39326-4

See also

* Roman bridge
* List of Roman bridges

External links

*
* [http://www.iath.virginia.edu/rome/Journal2TaylorNew.pdf The Waters of Rome: Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome]
* [http://www.compart-multimedia.com/virtuale/us/roma/bridge_of_castel_st_angelo.htm Ponte di Castel Sant'Angelo] Virtual 360° panorama and photos.
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=rome&ll=41.902982,12.466049&spn=0.006584,0.010060&t=k&hl=en Satellite image]
* [http://www.beliefnet.com/features/bridgeofangels/index.html Angels of the Passion] Multimedia feature from Beliefnet.com