St. Angelo Bridge
Five-arched Roman bridge lined with ten Baroque angels, once the city's prime execution site.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to St. Angelo Bridge in Rome centers on Beatrice Cenci, a twenty-two-year-old brought to a scaffold at the foot of the bridge in September 1599 after years of abuse from her father went unanswered by the papal authorities. It follows the family's desperate act, Rome's sympathy for her cause, and Pope Clement VIII's refusal to grant clemency. It also traces how Bernini's ten angels came to line the bridge decades later, two of them carved by his own hand. Look up at the angels on the parapets as you cross, and listen for what Romans still say happens here each September.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Castel Sant'Angelo
Circular fortress rising from a Roman emperor's tomb on the bank of the Tiber, now a museum.
Ponte Milvio
Ancient Roman bridge where Constantine defeated Maxentius in 312 AD, reshaping Western history.
Campo de' Fiori
Open-air piazza and daily produce market, site of philosopher Giordano Bruno's execution in 1600.
Basilica of Saint Mary of Minerva
Gothic Dominican church containing Saint Catherine of Siena's tomb and Michelangelo's Risen Christ.
Piazza Barberini
Baroque piazza centred on Bernini's travertine Triton Fountain, symbol of papal power and Roman wit.
Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria
Baroque church sheltering Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, lit by golden rays in a marble chapel.