Rome - Ponte Sant'Angelo

The Ponte Sant'Angelo, the finest of Rome's bridges, was built by Hadrian in A.D. 136 to give access to his Mausoleum and was known as the Pons Aelius (after one of the Emperor's forenames). The three central piers are original. The entrance to the bridge, which is closed to traffic, is guarded by statues of Peter, by Lorenzetto (1530) and Paul, by Paolo Romano (1463), erected in the mid 16th century under Clement VII. Clement IX commissioned Bernini, who was 70, to carve the 10 figures of angels which line the bridge. The figures, carrying the instruments of Christ's passion, were executed by Bernini's pupils (Antonio Raggi, Antonio Giorgetti and Ercole Ferrata) between 1660 and 1668 to Bernini's design.