Originally an
imperial tomb built by Hadrian (117-38 AD) it became the
dynastic sepulcher of the Antonine's. Work began in 123
AD but was only completed in 139 AD after the emperor's
death. The mausoleum was linked to the Campus Martius by
the Pons Aelius (now the Ponte Sant'Angelo). Through the
ages is has served in varying capacities: first as a
fortress, then as a noble dwelling, and finally a papal
residence. In the foreground of this photograph,
juxtaposed to the Castel Sant'Angelo, stands a monumental
sculptural group from the Ponte Vittorio Emmanuelle
(1911).
The celebrated Ponte Sant'Angelo, the
ancient Pons Aelius or Pons Adrianus crossing the Tiber,
was built by Hadrian in 134 AD as a fitting approach to
his mausoleum. Ten statues of angels, by pupils of
Bernini (1688 to his design) stand along the balustrade
of the bridge. The central three arches that support the
bridge or of the original structure, while the end arches
were restored and enlarged in 1892-94 during the
construction of the Lungotevere embankments.
From
the terrace of the Castel Sant'Angelo, site of Puccini's
third act of Tosca, where the heroine plunges to her
death in the murky waters of the Tiber, one gains yet
another magnificent view of the Eternal City. In the
distance one can pick out the Campidoglio the Vittorio
Emanuele II Monument, St. Ivo alla Sapienza, St. Agnese in
Agone as well as the Pantheon and a number of other
distinguished domes of Rome.