Sant'Angelo Bridge

Ponte Sant’Angelo, one of the most iconic bridges in Rome, connects the city center to Castel Sant’Angelo, thus linking the Ponte district to the Borgo district. Originally called Pons Aelius, it was built in 134 AD by Emperor Hadrian to connect his mausoleum, now known as Castel Sant’Angelo, to the city. Made of peperino and covered in travertine, the bridge consists of five arches, with three main and two minor ones, which support the structure and increase its resistance to the floods of the Tiber. In the Middle Ages, the bridge was renamed Ponte Sant’Angelo following the vision of Pope Gregory the Great of the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword on top of the mausoleum, a sign of the end of the 590 plague. This vision gave a new spiritual meaning to the bridge, which became a symbolic passage for pilgrims heading to St. Peter’s Basilica. A dramatic episode occurred during the Jubilee of 1450, when the crowded bridge saw one of its balustrades collapse, causing the death of 172 people. This tragic event led to the demolition of some houses at the entrance of the bridge to facilitate the flow of pilgrims and the construction of two chapels, later demolished for defensive reasons in 1527. In 1535, Pope Clement VII commissioned the installation of statues of St. Peter and St. Paul at the entrance of the bridge, symbols of welcome and protection for pilgrims. In 1669, Pope Clement IX ordered Gian Lorenzo Bernini to create a new balustrade decorated with ten statues of angels, each carrying an instrument of the Passion of Christ. The statues were sculpted by Bernini’s students under his supervision, with Bernini himself creating the angels with the crown of thorns and the scroll. However, these two statues were considered too beautiful to be exposed to the weather and were replaced by copies, while the originals were placed in the church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte. The statues of the angels are distributed along the bridge in pairs, each depicting a moment of the Passion of Christ. For example, the angel with the column and the angel with the scourges, sculpted respectively by Antonio Raggi and Lazzaro Morelli, represent the flagellation of Christ. Each angel is placed on a base decorated with Latin inscriptions explaining the symbolism, making the bridge not only a work of art but also a spiritual path. A fascinating aspect of Ponte Sant’Angelo is its nighttime illumination, which highlights the architectural lines and statues, creating a suggestive effect that attracts tourists and residents. The lights accentuate the beauty of the sculptures and the grandeur of the bridge, making it one of the most photographed places in Rome. One of the distinctive features of the bridge is its ability to withstand the floods of the Tiber. Its solid foundations and arched structure allow it to manage the flow of water, preventing significant damage during frequent floods. This robustness has allowed the bridge to remain functional and safe for over a thousand years, a true testament to Roman engineering.