Written by Antonio Alejandro Piccolo
Territories characterized by river or marine waters have always driven humankind to devise ways to move across them with greater ease.
At first, this was achieved with rafts and boats, when the land was sparsely populated. Later, as mobility increased — or with the political aim of improving the livability and economy of a region — bridges began to be built.
There are, of course, special cases in which a bridge was constructed for unique reasons. The first medal chronologically featured in our current Auction 11 offers us the opportunity to illustrate one such example.
Ponte Sant’Angelo
Lots 987 and 988 feature two specimens of a beautiful medal issued in 1669, the final year of Pope Clement IX’s pontificate.
Auction 11, Lot 987, Clemente IX (1667-1669) Medal An. III (1669) Ponte Elio (Sant’Angelo) sul Tevere – Opus: Cheron
On the obverse, the Pope — a native of Pistoia — is depicted posing gracefully to the right. On the reverse, an elaborate yet harmonious composition portrays Ponte Sant’Angelo, beneath which flows the River Tiber, personified in the classical manner and accompanied by the she-wolf with the twins.
Auction 11, Lot 988, Clemente IX (1667-1669) Medal An. III (1669) Ponte Elio (Sant’Angelo) sul Tevere – Opus: Cheron
The legend refers to the placement of the magnificent Bernini statues of angels on the bridge’s pedestals, while also recalling its ancient name — Pons Aelius — built to provide access to the Mausoleum of Hadrian, burial place of the emperor of the same name, a member of the Aelian family.
The bridge’s construction did indeed serve a practical purpose, yet its grand and intricate architecture also makes it a monument to the memory of Hadrian himself.
In the Middle Ages, the mausoleum was transformed into a fortress and took the name Castel Sant’Angelo — a name and protection that, in turn, extended to the adjacent bridge.
Ponte sul Taro
About a hundred and fifty years later, in 1818, Maria Luigia — former wife of Napoleon and now Duchess of Parma — had a commemorative medal struck at the Milan mint to celebrate a truly remarkable work of architecture and engineering (lot 937).
It commemorates the bridge of twenty arches, nearly 600 meters long, built over the River Taro. Its construction marked the definitive resolution of a story spanning many centuries — perhaps more than a millennium. The Romans had in fact already built a bridge over the Taro along the Via Aemilia, which later collapsed at an unknown time.
A second bridge was erected in the Middle Ages, when in 1170 a hermit from the Abbey of Nonantola commissioned its construction. Initially made of perishable materials such as wood and piles, it was later replaced by a new brick structure. This bridge, too, had a troubled history of collapses caused by the river’s fury, and the story finally ended with its complete destruction in 1345.
Auction 11, Lot 937, PARMA Maria Luigia (1814-1847) Medal 1818 Ponte sul fiume Taro – Opus: Santarelli
Our extremely rare medal, struck in the most precious of the three metals in which the issue was produced, features on the obverse the neoclassical portrait of the “Good Duchess,” and on the reverse an idyllic depiction of the river landscape crossed by her new — and still enduring — bridge.
Ponte di Galloro
So far, we have examined two bridges spanning waterways, but humankind has also faced the need to build bridges over land. Let us now turn to two such examples, both located in the hilly region of the Castelli Romani and depicted on three papal medals.
On the silver medal of Pope Gregory XVI (lot 994), issued in 1845, the reverse depicts the Bridge of Galloro, which links Genzano to Ariccia, with the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Galloro visible in the background.
Auction 11, Lot 994, Gregorio XVI (1831-1846) Medal1843 An. XV Ponte di Galloro – Opus: G. Girometti
Ponte di Ariccia
In the years that followed, Pope Pius IX completed the modernization of the road network in the Ariccia area with the construction of the monumental bridge of the same name, featuring three superimposed arches. It is depicted in perspective on the silver annual medal of 1851 (lot 996) and frontally on the gilt bronze commemorative medallion of 1854 (lot 1000).
Auction 11, Lot 996, Pio IX (1846-1878) Medal 1851 An. VI Ponte di Ariccia – Opus: G. Cerbara
As in the medal of lot 994, both of these medals also depict notable buildings of Ariccia: Palazzo Chigi, renowned for its magnificent Baroque picture gallery, and the facing Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta.
Auction 11, Lot 1000, Pio IX (1846-1878) Large-module struck medal 1854 Inaugurazione del ponte di Ariccia 1854 – Opus: G. Bianchi
All that’s left is to invite you to take a trip through these places — between Rome, its Castelli, and Parma — perhaps with the medals you might win at auction tucked in your pocket!
See also: