The Bridge of Castel St.Angelo (Ponte Sant'Angelo), Rome, Italy - Stone Bridges on Waymarking.com

Ponte Sant'Angelo, once the Aelian Bridge or Pons Aelius, meaning the Bridge of Hadrian, is a Roman bridge in Rome, Italy, completed in 134 AD 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.

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, 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, also in Rome.

Physical Location (city, county, etc.): In front of Castel St.Angelo, Rome, Italy Road, Highway, Street, etc.: Pedestrian bridge Water or other terrain spanned: Tiber River Construction Date: 134 A.D. Architect/Builder: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Post one photo of the bridge that is a different view from the one on the page and describe your visit. Add any additional information that you may have about this bridge. A GPSr photo is NOT required.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   04/06/2024 djdomin visited it 07/02/2023 GURUGU visited it 06/03/2023 breukelenh visited it 06/03/2023 MaaBo visited it 08/25/2020 Ariberna visited it 10/16/2019 Cyrano-Bella visited it 10/03/2017 ballbreaker67 visited it 08/12/2017 Chrysafenios visited it 05/18/2017 franketmuriel visited it 04/29/2017 DrakMrak visited it 11/11/2016 zeepia visited it 10/09/2016 André de Montbard visited it 08/08/2016 frenchje visited it 05/09/2015 UMCMU visited it 04/26/2015 DD Drix visited it 04/17/2015 Tumbrel visited it 04/06/2015 luzzi-reloaded visited it 11/03/2014 CONPER visited it 10/15/2014 Castor007 visited it 09/24/2014 Croupsie Croupso visited it 09/17/2014 buffalohiker visited it 09/13/2014 Becktracker visited it 04/21/2014 Esdoornroosje visited it 10/30/2013 Eibacher Kuckuck visited it 09/17/2013 Kulpakko visited it

View all visits/logs