The Bridge of the Holy Angel in Rome (Italy) has a very long history. Today, tourists are attracted by the masterpiece statues of ten angels depicting the Passion of Christ. Over the years, the bridge, which has a sacred significance, led to the tomb of the Roman emperor, a dungeon in which people objected to the Catholic clergy, papal residence, and treasury were imprisoned. Currently in the castle of Angels is a museum.
Roman bridges over the Tiber river
Roman civilization was founded in the eighth century BC on the east coast of the Tiber. Goods were transported along the river, they were looking for food in it, it served as the borderline between warring Latins and Etruscans. The first crossings were in that part of the stream, where it was relatively calm, that is, lower than the island of Tiberin. It also built a pile bridge made of wood without the use of iron and nails. Approximately on this place now stands the Publicnio bridge. The first bridge was erected during the reign of the fourth ancient Roman king Anka Marzia. For various reasons, Sustnio in Rome was repeatedly destroyed, but time after time it was restored.
The first bridges over the Tiber were built so that structures could be easily destroyed or set on fire when the enemy approached. After all, crossing a fast river was quite difficult. The first stone bridge on wooden stilts was built here in 179 BC, and in 142, wooden piles were replaced with stone arches. In 109, the Mulviev Bridge was built, through which many winners of major wars and conquerors entered the capital, among them Guy Julius Caesar and Charles I the Great. In general, in Rome there were four types of bridges: private - for carts and people passing through the city on their way to somewhere else, supporting aqueducts and public ones. The Angel Bridge in Rome, Italy, refers precisely to the latter type.
Construction of an architectural landmark
The Bridge of Angels in Rome begins its history from the time of the Roman emperor Elias Hadrian, who was not a stranger to self-love (like all Roman rulers). With enough resources, he expressed his narcissism through the construction of magnificent buildings, one of which was the mausoleum, erected on the banks of the Tiber on his orders. So that admiring subjects could worship the god-like king, a bridge was built leading to the mausoleum of Hadrian (now it is the castle of the Holy Angel) from the Field of Mars. The end of construction dates back to 134 year.
Design Features and Materials
The main building material used in the construction of the Angel Bridge (part of the structure is visible in the photo above) is travertine on the outside and tuff on the inside. Dense limestone was more durable and less porous than tuff. It was not possible to completely build a bridge from travertine, because this material is more expensive and heavier. The work would have dragged on significantly, and much more money would have been required.
No evidence of exactly how the Angel Bridge was built in Italy during the time of Elijah Hadrian has not been preserved. Obviously, workers used standard methods for building stone bridges in the second century. Where the installation of the supports was planned, rings were made of poles coated with clay. These are underwater caissons. Then, in the bottom of the river, deepenings were made for the foundations. Usually they dug until they reached a certain layer of soil, and when this was impossible for some reason, they simply drove in wooden poles. Wooden substrates can be unexpectedly reliable and quite durable, because without oxygen, pathogenic bacteria are not able to survive and multiply.
Diamond-shaped waterproof drums, the angle of which is directed against the current, were installed to reduce its destructive force. Water flowed more smoothly around the supports of the structure. Arches were made of trapezoidal stone. The whole structure was very unstable until all the stones were installed (the upper, that is, the largest), so the whole period of construction was actively used complex forests. In those places where the arches reached the coast, whole walls or large columns were built to withstand such significant pressure. In this case, it was two 12-meter walls.
The cost of construction and monumentality of the bridge
The construction cost the emperor dearly because many skilled workers were required. Bridge of the Holy Angel (Italy) was built without cement, so the stones had to be turned so that they fit perfectly together. A scaffold was also the construction of forests. The materials themselves and their transportation to the place of construction of the monument were very expensive. When construction was completed, the bridge was 90 meters long. The Bridge of Angels consists of five arches with a diameter of nine meters.
Further history of the monument
The Bridge of the Holy Angel in Rome, Italy, was mentioned in the "Hell" part of Dante's Divine Comedy, which was written between 1308 and 1320. Two endless streams of pilgrims are described who walked across the bridge in the first Anniversary year (1300) in history to the holy city - the Vatican. By the early Middle Ages, the real name of the bridge - Elya - was forgotten. Pilgrims who, after the collapse of the bridge of Victor Emanuel II (then called the Bridge of Nero) walked along this structure to the Basilica of St. Peter, began to call it St. Peter's Bridge.
In the middle of the 15th century, when a charioteer lost control of a horse in a crowd of pilgrims seeking the Vatican, panic broke out. People sold the balustrade. Nearly 200 people fell from the bridge and drowned. As a result of the unrest that followed, several houses were destroyed, and the arch that blocked the path to the bridge was damaged. In the second half of the same century, on the left side of the bridge, the bodies of those who were executed in the neighboring square were put on display for the citizens.
Statues of Angels depicting the Passion of Christ
The Bridge of the Holy Angel in Rome acquired the first two statues in 1535. The sculptures were ordered by Pope Clement VII. The sculptor Lorenzetto received an order for a statue of the Apostle Peter holding a book, Paolo Romano - the Apostle Peter holding a book and a broken sword. Under Pope Paul III, Raffaello da Montelupo created four more statues, as well as sculptures of Abraham, Adam, Noah and Moses. In 1669, by order of Pope Clement IX, crumbling gypsum sculptures were replaced with new ones. This work was entrusted to Lorenzo Bernini, for whom she was one of the last. According to his design, all ten sculptures were to hold the instruments of the Passion of Christ. The sculptor managed to make only two statues, which Clement IX took to his personal collection.
The sacred meaning of sight
It was repeatedly mentioned that along the bridge of the Holy Angel in Rome, believers crossed the Tiber on the way to the main Catholic attraction, namely the Basilica of St. Peter. To cross the river over this bridge was to go from the worldly city to the Holy City. This stretch of the path had for the believers the symbolic meaning of purification, bringing the sinner closer to the divine world. The bridge of the Holy Angel symbolizes the communication of man with God. So, it is not surprising that the attraction is decorated with statues of angels, who are intermediaries between the earthly and heavenly worlds. The statues of Peter and Paul that meet travelers are not accidental. They mark the beginning of redemption.
Ten statues of angels
The Bridge of Angels is decorated with ten statues of angels, the figures of which represent the Passion of Christ. Faces seem to hold back sobs from compassion for the Savior, then pacified by faith in the resurrection. Sculptor Bernini owns an angel in whose hands is the crown of thorns, and one that holds a sign with the inscription Inri. Work on other sculptures, the master entrusted his like-minded people. In 1670, Bernini's work, due to its high artistic value, was replaced by copies. Scripts adorn the church of San Andrea delle Fratte.
The first angel lifts the pillar to which Christ was tied during the interrogation of Pontius Pilate. This sculpture was created by Antonio Raji. The authorship of Lazzaro Morelli sadly looks at the whips that remind us of the Savior's wounds. An angel created by Paolo Naldini holds a crown of thorns as a symbol of human life. The face of Christ, stamped in blood on the board of Veronica, is examined by an angel made by Cosimo Fancelli. The sculpture, carved by Paolo Naldini, holds the dice on the robe of Christ.
The sculpture of Girolamo Lucenti shows the nails with which the hands and feet of the Savior were pierced. The next angel holds a cross - a symbol of faith in Christ and crucifixion. This sculpture was created by Ercole Ferrat. The following angel is holding a sign with Inri. The skuptura by Antonio Giorgetti looks at a sponge attached to the end of a cane. The last angel was carved from stone by Domenico Julie. The angel looks at the spear point to remind of the blow that pierced the Savior’s chest.
The modern look of the bridge
The Bridge of Angels in Rome was rebuilt several times and added new details. The monument underwent several large-scale modernizations during the Renaissance. In 1450, the triumphal arch was demolished, instead of which the figures of the apostles Peter and Paul were placed. In 1669, the bridge was decorated with figures of angels, to see which crowds of tourists from all over the world gather today. This sculpture group was locally witty called maniacs in the wind, because the angels are holding the objects of the execution and reproach of Christ. The Bridge of the Holy Angel is a pedestrian zone, so nothing will prevent tourists from slowly walking along it and looking at all the masterpieces.
Castle (mausoleum, prison and museum) in Rome
The bridge of the Holy Angel leads to the castle on the other side of the river. The last refuge of the Roman emperor, the residence of the pontiffs, who managed to visit the fort and the dungeon, eventually received the status of a museum and a treasury. The tomb of Hadrian became the residence of the popes by the 14th century, and Nicholas III connected the castle with the basilica. During the invasion of Charles V, Pope Clement VII found protection in the walls of the castle. Dominican monk Giordano Bruno was imprisoned in the castle. In 1901, the castle of the Holy Angel was declared a museum. Today this place is wished by Sony tourists. You can take a walk around the bridge of the Holy Angel.
How to get to the sights
To find the bridge of the Holy Angel, you should focus on the castle located to the east of Peter's Square. Walking from one attraction to another takes a maximum of five minutes. A city bus number 271 or number 6 will take you to the foot of the castle. You need to get off at the Piazza Pia stop. The nearest metro station is called Ottaviano-San-Pitro (this is line A). The bridge is open around the clock; no passage fees are required.
Some interesting facts
The bridge changed its name several times. The bridge of the Holy Angel received its modern name only thanks to the widespread legend about how in the sixth century Rome simply died out from the plague. It is believed that then on the top of the mausoleum on the other side of the river appeared the archangel Michael with a sword in his hands. Pope Gregory I regarded this as a sign of the imminent end of trouble. After this event, the structure remaining from the time of Ancient Rome was renamed the Castle of St. Angel, and the bridge leading to it - the Bridge of the Holy Angel, respectively. Later, a huge statue of the savior of the archangel Michael was installed on the roof of the mausoleum.
Famous prisoners of the castle to which the bridge leads
Since the 14th century, the castle, which leads to the bridge of Angels in Rome (photo in the article), the former mausoleum of the Roman emperor, served as a prison for special criminals. Over the years, the prisoners of the castle were Giovanni Batista Orsini, Benvenuto Cellini, Beatrice Cenchi, Giuseppe Balsamo and others.
A cardinal belonging to one of the wealthiest Roman families, Giovanni Batista Orsini was charged with a secret conspiracy against the pope and an attempted deportation. The family tried to ransom the prisoner, but Pope Alexander VI poisoned the prisoner (although he accepted a huge pearl as a gift).
The sculptor and jeweler who participated in the siege of the fortress in 1527, Benvenuto Cellini was accused of theft. Cellini thoroughly knew the location of the corridors and rooms of the castle, which allowed him to escape. By the way, this is the only escape in the history of the castle.
Young Beatrice Chenchi was the victim of intrigue. Accused of killing her own father, who repeatedly raped the girl, was executed in 1599. Dad refused to commute the sentence. It is believed that the refusal was caused by the fact that after the death of the direct heiress, the whole huge fortune of the family passed in favor of the Holy See.
Count Cagliostro (also known as Giuseppe Balsamo) was arrested in 1789. This is a famous adventurer and con man. Serious charges were brought against him, namely Freemasonry and blasphemy. The death penalty, however, was replaced by pardon. Giuseppe Balsamo was imprisoned in the Tuscan province of Emilia-Romagna, where he spent the rest of his days.