Ponte Sant'Angelo

The bridge was commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian and completed around 134 AD. It was originally named the Pons Aelius, or Bridge of Hadrian. He built it to connect the city center to his newly constructed mausoleum, which is now known as Castel Sant'Angelo.

The bridge is famously lined with ten marble statues of angels designed by the legendary Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Each angel holds an instrument of the Passion of Christ. Pope Clement IX commissioned the statues in the 17th century to transform the bridge into a path of devotion.

No, since the year 2000, the Ponte Sant'Angelo has been completely closed to vehicle traffic and serves strictly as a pedestrian bridge. This restriction preserves the ancient structure and provides a safe, scenic walk for tourists. It offers a stunning, unobstructed view of the Tiber River and Castel Sant'Angelo.

In the past, the bridge was famously used to display the severed heads of executed criminals as a warning to the public during the papal states era. During the Renaissance floods of the Tiber, many original elements were damaged or washed away. Today, only the ancient Roman stone core and the 17th-century angel statues remain.