Statue of the Archangel Michael in Castel Sant’Angelo

Archange Saint-Michel

One might expect that the name of the sculptor of the bronze Archangel adorns the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome could be Sanmartino or Canova, but it is a Flemish sculptor named Peter Anton von Verschaffelt that create it in 1748 on the commission of Benedict XIV. The art piece was put in place only in 1753 to replace the original marble damaged by time. Verschaffelt was not what we can call a Michelangelo, but more of a talented craftsman, his subsequent achievements were to be the official sculptor of the Electoral Palatinate Charles Theodore and he occupied himself mainly to the garden sculptures of Schwetzingen.

The presence of the Archangel Michael at the top of Château Saint-Anges originate from a legend that says that Pope Gregory I (Saint Gregory the Great) would have glimpsed the Archangel putting back his sword in place at the high end of the castle and it was believed to be the announcement of the end of the plague of 542.

Château Saint-Ange >>