Built in
the years 133/134 as Pons Aelius for Hadrian (117/138) maybe by Demetrianus
Built in
peperino tuff and covered with travertine marble
Originally
it had three arches and it was connected with ramps to the banks
The ramps were in turn supported by three smaller arches on the left side and two
on the right bank, toward the mausoleum of Hadrian, which were partially
destroyed and partially buried in 1893 during the construction of the
embankments and replaced by two modern arches
It is 130 m
(426 feet) long and 9 m (30 feet) wide
In 1534
Clement VII Medici (1523/34) wanted to add the statues of “St. Peter” by Lorenzo Lotti aka Lorenzetto (1490/1541) on the left and “St. Paul” 1463/64 by Paolo
Taccone aka Paolo Romano (about 1415/77) on the right, moved here from
the loggia of the blessings of the ancient Basilica of St. Peter
The area in
front of the bridge in Piazza Sant'Angelo was one of those destined for public
executions by beheading
Paul III
Farnese (1534/49) wanted to outline the SMALL TRIDENT consisting of the current
Via Paola, Via del Banco di Santo Spirito and Via di Panico
In the
years 1668/71 Clement IX Rospigliosi (1667/69) ordered the construction of a
new parapet, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
(1598/1680), who wanted the iron gratings to allow the view of the water,
element of inspiration for many works of Bernini
Above the
parapet were placed ten statues of angels with the instruments of the Passion
of Christ, sculpted by Bernini's followers under his direction
From the South End:
“Column” by Ercole
Antonio Raggi (1624/86)
“Flagella” by Lazzaro
Morelli (1608/90)
“Crown of Thorns”: the original sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his son Paolo was never put in place and was moved in 1729 in
the church of S. Andrea delle Fratte
The
sculpture on the bridge is a copy by Pietro Paolo
Naldini (1619/91)
The two
angels sculpted by Bernini (this and the one with the Titulus Crucis)
were donated to S. Andrea delle Fratte by Prospero Bernini, grandson of the
master, who bought them from the heirs of Pope Clement IX who had replaced them
with copies on Ponte Sant'Angelo, not to save them from the elements, as it is
commonly said, but to have them shipped to Pistoia, his hometown
“Shroud or Holy Face” by Cosimo
Fancelli (1620/88). The base of the inscription was hit by a cannon ball
during the fall of Rome in 1870
“This angel
shows in his quite voluptuous forms and in the type of head how much Fancelli
owed to Cortona, while at the same time, he was quoting the current Bernini
style. Unequal in his works he often tried to combine the styles of Cortona and
Bernini with an emphatic simplicity of form which he shared with Ferrata, his collaborator
on more than one occasion. Therefore it is often difficult to make a
distinction between their works” (Rudolf Wittkower)
“Robe and Dice” by Pietro
Paolo Naldini
“Nails” by Girolamo
Lucenti (?/1698)
“Cross” by Ercole
Ferrata (1610/86)
“Well
inserted within the commissions of the Roman art scene, Ferrata worked a lot
for Bernini, but also for Pietro Berrettini or for Rainaldi. Perhaps conscious
of his difficulty with 'inventions', he often preferred, especially in the
beginning, to execute works from designs of others and also he frequently used
graphic ideas of his pupils” (Gerardo Casale - Dizionario Biografico degli
Italiani Treccani)
“Titulus Crucis with
INRI inscription” the original sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
and his son Paolo was never put in place and was
moved in 1729 in the church of S. Andrea delle Fratte
The angel
on the bridge is a copy of Bernini himself, done with the help of Giulio Cartari (active 1665/78)
“The drapery
of Bernini angels expresses an abstract comment on the emotional state of
mourning of the angels themselves. During these years increasingly Bernini
relied upon the drapery as agents of his feelings. Instead of being a simple
cover made of cotton or linen, drapery becomes a chiaroscuro repetition related
to a highly loaded inner feeling, the expression of which apparently exceeds
the expressive potential power of faces and bodies” (Howard Hibbard)
“Sponge” by Antonio
Giorgetti (active since 1660/d. 1669)
“Spear” by Domenico
Guidi (1625/1701)
“Going
back for a moment from these statues to the ones placed forty years before
under the dome of St. Peter's, we realize that, unlike the previous works
highly personal and subjective, here we are dealing with products of followers
among whom Bernini looks like a solitary giant. His intense baroque not only
had a leveling influence on most of these masters of the younger generation,
but also reduced their ability of self-expression, and perhaps even their desire
to reach it” (Rudolf Wittkower)
