SANT'ANGELO BRIDGE

Italian Ponte Sant'Angelo, ancient (Latin) Pons Aelius ancient Roman bridge, probably the finest surviving in Rome itself, built over the Tiber by the emperor Hadrian (reigned 117138 AD) to connect the Campus Martius with his mausoleum (later renamed Castel Sant'Angelo). The bridge was completed about AD 135. It consists of seven stone arches and five main spans of about 60 feet (18 m) each, supported on piers 24 feet (7 m) high. In the 13th century Pope Clement IV installed an iron balustrade and in the 16th century Pope Clement VII placed statues of Saints Peter and Paul at the end of the bridge. In 1688, 10 statues of angels, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, were mounted on the parapets.