A beautiful royal destination: Castel Sant' Angelo in Rome, Italy. A place fit for Emperors and for Popes

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Castel Sant' Angelo in Art - Source pictures: Wikipedia




Castel Sant' Angelo in Rome Italy


Rome, the capital of Italy, really has some amazing castles with a great
royal history which went back to the very beginning of the Roman Empire.

One of those magnificent buildings is the Castel Sant' Angelo, located in the
Parco Adriano in Rome.

Castel Sant' Angelo in Rome - Italy
own picture taken in december 2017


Some Royal History
The Castel Sant' Angelo also is called the Mausoleum of Hadrian, or the
tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian.


Hadrian - Source picture: Wikipedia


This beautiful building was erected on the right bank of the Tiber between
134 and 139 AD!

Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in Baiae in 138,
together with those of his wife Sabina and his first adopted son Lucius
Aelius who died in 138.

After him the remains of the succeeding emperors were also placed here,
though the last one was Caracalla in 217.

Much of the tomb and its decorations were lost when the building was
converted into a military fortress. This took place in 401. The urns and
the ashes were scattered by Visigoth looters during Alaric's sacking of
Rome in 410.

Legends told that Archangel Michael appeared on top of the mausoleum,
sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague of 590, so he gave
the castle its present name.

Statue of St. Michael on top of the Castel Sant' Angelo in Rome Italy
own picture taken in december 2017


A fortress suit for the popes

 The popes converted the fortress into a castle at the beginning of the
14th century. It was Pope Nicholas III, who connected the castle to
the St. Peter's Basilica by a covered fortified corridor called the
Passetto di Borgo.


Pope Nicholas III - Source picture: Wikipedia


Pope Clement VII sought refuge at the Castel Sant' Angelo during the siege
of Emperor Charles V during the Sack of Rome in 1527.

Escape room for the popes, Castel Sant' Angelo in Rome


Pope Leo X built a chapel with a Madonna made by Raffaello da Montelupo.
In 1536 Montelupo also created the marble statue of Saint Michael holding
his sword.

Later Pope Paul III built a rich apartment, to ensure that in any future siege the
pope had an appropriate place to stay.

one of the amazing rooms in the Castel Sant' Angelo in Rome, Italy


The Papal State also used the Castel Sant' Angelo as a prison. Executions were
performed in the small inner courtyard.

In 1900 the Castle Sant' Angelo was used in the third act of Giacomo Puccini's
opera Tosca.

Nowadays, the Castle Sant' Angelo is an interesting museum with lots of
visitors.

At the Castle Sant' Angelo in Rome, Italy


A visit

 I visited the Castel Sant'Angelo and its museum at the beginning of
December 2017, which was luckily a rather a quiet week in Rome.

The Castle Sant' Angelo offers an interesting history, a good museum
and wonderful views to Vatican City and to Rome.

In the 18th.century Rome was a part of the Grand Tour. For the Dutch readers
of my blog there is a book called 'De Grand Tour in de 18e eeuw' written by
Janneke Budding. Interested? Check this link. 


Castel Sant' Angelo in Rome painting - Source picture: Wikipedia
Castle Sant' Angelo in rome

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