Angel Bridge Rome by Richard Driessen

About "Angel Bridge Rome"

by Richard Driessen

About the artwork

The Bridge of Angels (Italian: Ponte Sant'Angelo) is an originally Roman bridge in Rome. The bridge connects the Castle of the Angels (Castel Sant'Angelo) with the other side of the Tiber River.

The bridge was built in 134 and commissioned by Emperor Hadrian, who wanted a direct connection from the city to his newly built mausoleum, the current Angel Castle. The bridge was also given its name Pons Aelius or Pons Hadrian, Aelius being Hadrian's family name. The bridge was built of travertine and the arches with peperino. Originally, the Pons Aelius had eight arches; the three central arches with a diameter of 18.39 metres, three smaller arches of 3, 3.5 and 7.59 on the left and two of 3.75 and 7.59 on the right. The bridge is 10.95 metres wide. On the eastern bank of the bridge was the Arch of Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius, built around 380.

From the sixth century, both the bridge and Hadrian's mausoleum were named Sant'Angelo. Indeed, according to legend, the archangel Michael announced the end of a plague epidemic atop the fortress in 590. Later, the bridge was also called pons Sancti Petri (Bridge of Saint Peter) as many pilgrims crossed the Tiber here on their way to Saint Peter's Basilica.

On 19 September in the Holy Year 1450, large groups of pilgrims walked across the bridge to St Peter's. When the crowds became too large, the railings gave way and many fell into the river, drowning 178 people. Following this, the old triumphal arch and some houses near the bridgehead were demolished to make the street wider.
At the bridgehead on the east bank, executions were carried out for centuries. The corpses of the condemned were then displayed on the bridge for deterrence. info: Wikipedia