The story of these angels ⤵️ Bernini was a sculptor.. and also an entrepreneur. In fact he was commissioned a lot of work, and he took all of it, thanks to the help of his assistants. His assistants were of course great sculptors, but Bernini just gave that little extra magic to his marbles.. When he was commissioned the statues on Ponte Sant’Angelo (bridge leading to Castel Sant’Angelo), depicting the elements of the via Crucis of Jesus, he only personally produced 2 out of the 10 statues that you see today: the one holding the INRI sign and the one with the crown of thorns. Once the statues were completed the Pope considered these two angels too precious to be left outdoors on the bridge. So he had two copies made by Bernini’s assistants and kept these two originals for himself. Shortly after the Pope died and the angels were transferred to Palazzo Bernini (in via della Mercede, right next to this church). Until in 1729 they were moved to the church where we can see them today (Sant’...