Ponte Sant' Angelo, Rome

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a.k.a. The Bridge of Hadrian is located just in front of the Castel Sant'Angelo or The Mausoleum of Hadrian.

The pedestrian bridge was constructed by Emperor Hadrian and was finished in 134AD. There are 10 statues of angels - 5 on each side of the bridge. It actually reminded me of the Charles Bridge in Prague, though that one is of course a lot busier than this.

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“O blithe little soul, thou, flitting away,
Guest and comrade of this my clay,
Whither now goest thou, to what place
Bare and ghastly and without grace?
Nor, as thy wont was, joke and play.”
a verse composed by Emperor Hadrian (AD 76–AD 138) as he lay dying

A BRIDGE TO A FORMER TOMB As seen in Parts I & II, these10 Bernini angels line the sides of the Ponte Sant’Angelo (Holy Angel Bridge), which leads to the Castel Sant’Angelo (Holy Angel Castle). The castle was once the tomb of the Emperor Hadrian. Constructed between AD 135 and AD 139, much of the tomb’s contents, including the emperor’s ashes, those of his wife Sabina, and those of his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, and its decoration had been lost by the time it became a fortress in AD 401. In the 14th century it was converted into a castle. The castle is a National Museum that is open to the public.

For more on the Castel Sant’Angelo please my following tip, “Archangel Michael at Castel Sant’Angelo” in my Rome Tips section.

My favorite angel of the 10 is among this second group of five; it is the Angel with the Cross. It has such uplifting grace and beauty.

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“And so it is that Rome fairly suffocates with its endless variety of artistic perfection, one glory almost dimming the other while the rest of the world yearns for a crust of artistic beauty and has nothing.”
from “A Traveler at Forty” by Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945)

THE BRIGHTEST GLORY As part of a general reconstruction project for Ponte Sant’Angelo, it was decided to decorate the bridge as well. The commission to carve the 10 angels, each carrying an instrument of Christ’s Passion, came from Pope Clement IX when Gianlorzeno Bernini (1598–1680) was 70. While most of the figures were executed to Bernini’s design by his assistants between 1660 and 1668, the carving of the Angel with the Crown of Thorns (see Photo #2) and the Angel with the Superscript (see Photo #4) was reserved for the master’s touch.

This remains my favorite sight in Rome. Such vibrancy each sculpture has, such life!

The Tiber bridge Ponte St. Angelo connects Rome with the papal castle Castello St. Angelo and is decorated with angel sculptures from Bernini on either side. In my opinion the most beautiful bridge in all of Rome.

This bridge was built by Hadrian around 135AD as an appropriate approach to his mausoleum. It is one of the nicest bridges with Rome, especiallay with the 10 Bernini scultpures along the rails of the bridge. The area is awash with street vendors, so if you are looking for that knock off Prada or Gucci purse, this is the place.

Ponte Sant'Angelo is one of Rome's most famous bridges linking the city with Castel Sant'Angelo across the Tiber River. The existing bridge was built in the 15th century, but was not given its current look until the 18th century when Rome's famous architect, Bernini, restored the bridge and decorated it with beautiful statues that he designed himself. The bridge's predecessor had existed since Roman times.

This bridge was built at the same time with Sant'Angelo mausoleum, in 130 A.D., by the Emperor Hadrian. It was initially called Ponte Elio. The rows of angels were sculpted by the followers of Bernini.

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The Bridge of Angels that was constructed by the Emperor Aelius Hadrian across the Tiber to access to his mausoleum which is the now the 'Castle of Angels' (it was converted as a fortress by the Popes in the middle ages).

The bridge itself is decorated with ten statues of angels based on designs by Bernini in the 17th century. It symbolises the transformation of Rome from the centre of the Roman Empire into the centre of Christianity.