Ponte Sant'Angelo Pons Aelius | |
|---|---|
 Ponte Sant'Angelo, Rome | |
| Coordinates | 41°54′07″N12°27′59″E / 41.90192°N 12.46645°E /41.90192; 12.46645 |
| Crosses | Tiber |
| Locale | Rome |
| Other name | Aelius Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Masonry |
| Total length | 135 m (443 ft) |
| Height | 7 m (23 ft) |
| No. of spans | 5 |
| Location | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
Ponte Sant'Angelo, originally theAelian Bridge orPons Aelius, is aRoman bridge inRome,Italy, completed in 134 AD byRoman EmperorHadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus), to span theTiber from the city centre to his newly constructed mausoleum, now the toweringCastel Sant'Angelo. The bridge is faced withtravertine marble and spans the Tiber with five arches, three of which are Roman; it was approached by means of a ramp from the river. The bridge is now solely pedestrian and provides a scenic view of Castel Sant'Angelo. It links therioni ofPonte (which was named after the bridge itself), andBorgo, to which the bridge administratively belongs.
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Starting with the early Middle Ages, the original name was forgotten: after the ruin ofNero's Bridge, pilgrims were forced to use this bridge to reachSt Peter's Basilica, hence it was known also with the name of "bridge of Saint Peter" (pons Sancti Petri). In the sixth century, underPope Gregory I, both the castle and the bridge took on the nameSant'Angelo, explained by a legend that an angel appeared on the roof of the castle to announce the end of the plague. Dante writes in hisDivine Comedy that during thejubilee of 1300, due to the large number of pilgrims going and coming from Saint Peter, two separate lanes were arranged on the bridge.[1] During the 1450 jubilee,balustrades of the bridge collapsed, 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.
In 1535,Pope Clement VII allocated the toll income of the bridge to erecting the statues of the apostles Saint Peter (holding a book, with the pedestal inscriptionRione XIV) byLorenzetto, and Saint Paul (holding a broken sword and a book, with the pedestal inscriptionBorgo) byPaolo Romano to which subsequently the four evangelists and the patriarchs were added to other statues representing Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. For centuries after the 16th century, the bridge was used to expose the bodies of those executed in the nearbyPiazza di Ponte, at the left bridge head. In 1669Pope Clement IX commissioned replacements for the aging stucco angels byRaffaello da Montelupo, commissioned byPaul III.Bernini's program, one of his last large projects, called for ten angels holdinginstruments of the Passion: he personally only finished the two originals of theAngel with the Superscription "I.N.R.I." andthe Angel with theCrown of Thorns, but these were kept by Clement IX for his own pleasure. They are now in the church ofSant'Andrea delle Fratte, also in Rome.
At the end of the 19th century, due to the works for the construction of theLungotevere, the two Roman ramps which linked the bridge with the two banks were demolished, and in their place two arches similar to the Roman ones were built.
For theGreat Jubilee in 2000, theLungotevere on the right bank between the bridge and the castle became a pedestrian area.
On 21 October 2019 Austrian activistAlexander Tschugguel threw fivePachamama statues, which he had stolen from a display atSanta Maria in Traspontina as part of theAmazon Synod, off of the bridge into theTiber.[2][3]
| Image | Title by Sculptor | Inscription |
|---|---|---|
 | Angel with the Column byAntonio Raggi | Tronus meus in columna[4] |
 | Angel with the Whips byLazzaro Morelli | In flagella paratus sum[5] |
_00599.JPG) | Angel with the Crown of Thorns byGian Lorenzo Bernini and son Paolo (original atSant'Andrea delle Fratte, copy byPaolo Naldini) | In aerumna mea dum configitur spina[6] |
 | Angel with the Sudarium (Veronica's Veil) byCosimo Fancelli | Respice faciem Christi tui[7] |
 | Angel with the Garment and Dice by Paolo Naldini | Super vestimentum meum miserunt sortem[8] |
 | Angel with the Nails byGirolamo Lucenti | Aspicient ad me quem confixerunt[9] |
 | Angel with the Cross byErcole Ferrata | Cuius principatus super humerum eius[10] |
 | Angel with theSuperscription by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and son Paolo (original atSant'Andrea delle Fratte, copy by Giulio Cartari | Regnavit a ligno deus.[11] |
 | Angel with the Sponge byAntonio Giorgetti | Potaverunt me aceto.[12] |
 | Angel with the Lance byDomenico Guidi | Vulnerasti cor meum.[13] |
Media related toPonte Sant'Angelo (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Ponte Milvio | Landmarks of Rome Ponte Sant'Angelo | Succeeded by Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran |
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