{"id":1861,"date":"2026-03-20T12:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/?page_id=1861"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T15:28:09","slug":"ponte-santangelo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/?page_id=1861","title":{"rendered":"Ponte\u00a0Sant\u2019Angelo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"301\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1635.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1862\" srcset=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1635.png 400w, https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1635-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beside\u00a0the\u00a0mausoleum\u00a0of\u00a0Hadrian\u00a0once\u00a0stood\u00a0the\u00a0Triumphal\u00a0Bridge,\u00a0a\u00a0main thoroughfare leading to the Via Aurelia. This bridge Hadrian\u00a0replaced with\u00a0the newer\u00a0<strong>Pons Aelius\u00a0<\/strong>which led directly to his monument.\u00a0<strong>Demetrianus<\/strong>, architect of the emperor Hadrian designed the bridge, constructed before Hadrian\u2019s mausoleum\u00a0in order to\u00a0transport across the Tiber construction materials\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0City. The\u00a0name\u00a0of\u00a0the bridge derives from\u00a0his own\u00a0family name (Publius Aelius Hadrianus). In the sixth century once the mausoleum began to be called Castel Sant\u2019Angelo following the miraculous\u00a0appearance of\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Archangel Michael on its\u00a0summit\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>during\u00a0the\u00a0reign\u00a0of\u00a0Pope Gregory when the pope saw the angel sheath his sword to signal an end to a great plague then ravaging the\u00a0City. Although a partial collapse of the bridge in 1450 because of excessive crowds of pilgrims crossing it during the jubilee year resulted in minor repairs,\u00a0very little\u00a0of the bridge has changed since its 2<sup>nd<\/sup>\u00a0century construction except its name and the 17<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0century addition of the Bernini sculptures.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"168\" height=\"222\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1636.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1863\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Pope\u00a0Clement\u00a0IX\u00a0<\/strong>commissioned\u00a0<strong>Gian Lorenzo\u00a0Bernini\u00a0<\/strong>in\u00a01668\u00a0to\u00a0replace\u00a0the 16<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0century statues of Saints Peter and Paul and other apostles installed by\u00a0<strong>Pope Clement VII\u00a0<\/strong>as decorations for a visit to the City of the l Holy\u00a0Roman\u00a0emperor,\u00a0<strong>Charles\u00a0V<\/strong>.\u00a0Clement\u00a0sought\u00a0to\u00a0modernize\u00a0the\u00a0bridge and create a more gran d and religious approach, a Via Dolorosa, to the Vatican. Its central span hovers above five harmonious Roman arches together\u00a0with\u00a0its\u00a0Bernini-school\u00a0sculptures\u00a0rightly\u00a0justify its\u00a0reputation\u00a0as\u00a0the City\u2019s most attractive bridge.\u00a0Bernini designed life-sized\u00a0<strong>angels bearing the instruments of Christ\u2019s passion<\/strong>. Executed mostly by his disciples, the sculptures differed in many ways, but each one expressed great emotional fervor and dynamic movement. Bernini sculpted two angels, never intended for display on the bridge itself: an\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">angel with the crown of\u00a0thorns<\/span>;<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"147\" height=\"222\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1638.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1865\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">and\u00a0an\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">angel\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0INRI\u00a0superscription (Iesus\u00a0Nazarenus\u00a0Rex\u00a0Iudeaorum)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"147\" height=\"222\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1637.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1864\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0pope\u00a0retained\u00a0these\u00a0and\u00a0later\u00a0installed\u00a0them\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Church\u00a0of\u00a0San\u00a0Andrea delle Frate\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>near Bernini\u2019s home.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"166\" height=\"222\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1639.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1866\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beside\u00a0the\u00a0mausoleum\u00a0of\u00a0Hadrian\u00a0once\u00a0stood\u00a0the\u00a0Triumphal\u00a0Bridge,\u00a0a\u00a0main thoroughfare leading to the Via Aurelia. This bridge Hadrian\u00a0replaced with\u00a0the newer\u00a0Pons Aelius\u00a0which led directly to his monument.\u00a0Demetrianus, architect of the emperor Hadrian designed the bridge, constructed before Hadrian\u2019s mausoleum\u00a0in order to\u00a0transport across the Tiber construction materials\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0City. The\u00a0name\u00a0of\u00a0the bridge derives from\u00a0his own\u00a0family name (Publius Aelius Hadrianus). In the sixth century once the mausoleum began to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1861","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1861\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}