Just outside the
Castel Sant'Angelo is the
Ponte Sant'Angelo, a bridge across the Tiber. The bridge was originally known as the Aelian Bridge, named after Emperor
Hadrian whose tomb was on the site of the
Castel Sant'Angelo. The bridge has been there since 134 AD.
In 1535
Pope Clement VII commissioned statues of Peter and Paul, the evangelists, and some patriarchs for the bridge. In 1669
Pope Clement IX commissioned
Bernini to replace the evangelists and patriarchs (which were crumbling) with ten statues of angels holding instruments of the passion. Bernini was at the end of his life and only finished two of the statues, the angel with the superscription INRI and the one with the crown of thorns. Clement liked the two statues so much he kept them for his own collection. After his death, the statues wound up in
Sant'Andrea delle Fratte. Copies were made for the bridge.
Peter and Paul are located on the opposite side of the river from the castle, so we'll start from there.
|
Peter |
|
Paul |
|
Angel with the Whips |
|
Angel with the Column |
|
Angel with Veronica's Veil |
|
Angel with the Crown of Thorns |
|
Angel with the Nail |
|
Angel with the Garment and Dice |
|
Angel with the Cross |
|
Angel with the Superscription INRI |
|
Angel with the Sponge |
|
Angel with the Lance |
The bridge does draw tourists which draws sidewalk salesmen selling bags, sunglasses, trinkets, etc. We resisted the urge to purchase anything, recognizing most of it as low quality and uninteresting to us.
Tomorrow's post moves on to the
Castel Sant'Angelo!
No comments:
Post a Comment