Castel Sant’Angelo, in the heart of the Borgo district, is one of the symbols of the Eternal City. In its nearly 2,000 years of life it has been the tomb of Roman emperors, a fortress, a papal residence, a prison, and a barracks. Today Castel Sant’Angelo is one of the most visited museums in Italy, loved by tourists from all over the world for its scenic beauty and because it holds history, art and legends. If you don’t know it yet, try to remedy it as soon as you can, for example now, by reading this article.
Hadrian’s Mausoleum
The Emperor Hadrian, inspired by the tomb of Augustus that stood on the opposite bank of the Tiber and that of the King of Halicarnassus Mausolus (from which the word “mausoleum” originates), undertook the construction of a majestic edifice that was to preserve his remains and celebrate his greatness. Hadrian, however, failed to see the completion of his tomb because the work was completed in 139, a year after his death. Antoninus Pius consecrated the building, and from that time the mausoleum began to house the remains of several Roman emperors, up to Caracalla. Among the many statues that decorated the tomb commissioned by Hadrian, which resembled a kind of wedding cake resting on a square plinth, were also two splendid bronze peacocks that, many centuries later, were placed near St. Peter’s Basilica, and are now in the Vatican Museums.
From mausoleum to fortress and from fortress to “holy” castle
As early as the imperial age, Hadrian’s Mausoleum was incorporated into the system of fortifications ordered by Aurelian to defend Rome from possible enemy invasions. The fortress, protected by the river, walls and bridge, succeeded in slowing the advance of the Goths led by Totila in 547.
Half a century later, in 590, Pope Gregory the Great organized a procession to end the plague that was scourging Rome. Legend has it that the pontiff, while standing on the bridge in front of the fortress, had a vision of the archangel Michael putting his sword back in its scabbard at the top of the castle. This was interpreted as a divine sign that soon the epidemic would end, as it actually did. The construction of a chapel dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel meant that the Mole Adriana began to be called Castel Sant’Angelo.
From patrician castle to papal castle
For very many years a number of noble Roman families, such as the Crescenzi, Pierleoni and Orsini, disputed the ownership of Castel Sant’Angelo. During this period the castle began to function as a prison, always maintaining its role as a defensive stronghold, even after ownership passed to the Church. Both patrician families and popes modified the castle’s appearance over the centuries to suit their needs and strengthen its impregnability. The first pontiff to endow Castel Sant’Angelo with a papal apartment was Nicholas V (1447-55), who had moved the papal residence from the Lateran to the Vatican. From that time and throughout the sixteenth century, his successors continued the metamorphosis of the architectural complex, enriching it with rooms and decorations, until Paul III (1534-49), with whom the castle reached its maximum splendor.
Among the various building interventions that Castel Sant’Angelo underwent, the construction of the Passetto di Borgo stands out. This is an elevated walkway that was commissioned by Pope Nicholas III in 1277 to connect Castel Sant’Angelo to the Vatican and which, on two occasions, enabled the popes to get to safety by escaping from the Vatican and taking refuge in the castle. About 800 meters long, the Passetto is normally closed to the public but is opened on some special occasions, so inquire and cross your fingers!
The decline and rebirth
Starting in the 17th century, Castel Sant’Angelo began to gradually lose its prestige as a papal residence, remaining only a large arms depot and a prison. However involved in the historical and political changes that affected not only Rome but the whole of Italy, it was devastated, humiliated and despoiled first by the Napoleonic army and then by Bourbon soldiers.
After the annexation of Rome to the Italian State in 1870, between the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century the whole area of the castle underwent major restoration and transformation works that returned precious finds dating back to the various phases of the architectural complex’s life. In 1925 Castel Sant’Angelo became a National Museum in order to house historical and artistic collections related to the imperial mausoleum, the fortified castle and the papal apartments.
The 7 levels of Castel Sant’Angelo
Visiting Castel Sant’Angelo means taking a journey through the centuries, articulated in the 7 levels that make up the architectural complex. You can walk through them and “pass them” like in a video game, knowing that, having arrived at the last one, you will enjoy a wonderful prize. Here they are summarized, starting from bottom to top:
First level
As soon as you cross the museum’s entrance gate, on the lowest level of Castel Sant’Angelo you will find the Ambulacrum of Boniface IX, a kind of moat from which the ancient Roman walls and the remains of some statues that adorned Hadrian’s Mausoleum are perfectly visible. To this same level belong the Chapel of the Condemned, the Courtyard of the Shootings (the names of both rooms easily hint at what they were intended for), the helicoidal ramp, the Dromos, the long corridor of access to the tomb, and theAtrium, a small room that contained a gigantic statue of Hadrian, whose head is now preserved in the Vatican Museum. A curiosity: in the first half of the eighteenth century, an elevator for two was built that allowed the ascent from the Atrium to the Hall of Apollo, taking advantage of a system of lead counterweights.
Second level
A short distance from the main entrance is the Cordonata di Paolo III, a flight of steps that leads to the second level, where you will find the walkway known as the “marcia ronda,” which was walked by sentries and connects the four bastions of Castel Sant’Angelo. From the bastion of San Marco the Passetto di Borgo begins. Also part of the second level are the Diametrical Ramp, the Hall of Urns (which must have contained the remains of Hadrian) and the Armory of Clement X.
Third Level
The third level houses the Historic Prisons and the Oliare, rooms that were used as food stores and contain dozens and dozens of terracotta jars in which oil was stored. This precious substance was not only used to season the food of those who lived in the castle, but above all to illuminate and defend the building: poured boiling hot on any besiegers, in fact, it was a truly deadly weapon. Among the many “guests” of the prisons of Castel Sant’Angelo, there were some particularly famous ones. It is worth mentioning, in chronological order, the great goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, who lived in the 16th century and managed to escape by lowering himself from a window with a sheet; Beatrice Cenci, the Roman noblewoman sentenced to death in 1599 for killing her violent father; Giordano Bruno, the philosopher monk considered a heretic and as such burned alive in Campo de’ Fiori in 1600; and Cagliostro, the 18th-century alchemist adventurer who founded a Masonic sect and was arrested by the Holy Office on charges of witchcraft. Cagliostro, in truth, was not imprisoned here, but three floors up, in a room named after him and intended for prisoners of regard. The last illustrious prisoner, if only virtually, is Mario Cavaradossi, the character in Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca , who set the last act of his famous opera in Castel Sant’Angelo itself.
Fourth level
From this level one enters the papal apartments, introduced by the Angel Courtyard, in the center of which is the original statue of St. Michael the Archangel, from 1544, which stood on the castle terrace for two centuries until it was replaced by the one that can be admired today. Of all the rooms that can be visited, the Hall of Apollo and the Bath of Clement VII, which feature rich grotesque decorations executed by Perin Del Vaga and Giovanni da Udine, are must-sees.
Fifth level
Get ready: the rooms of Paul III’s apartment that you will admire in this level will leave you breathless with their beauty. To access its sumptuous rooms you will have to pass through the Loggia of Julius II, which offers a beautiful view of the Eternal City. This loggia is located opposite the Loggia of Paul III, which is the monumental overlook of the castle, located at the entrance and overlooking the Vatican area, Monte Mario and the Prati district. The two loggias are connected by the Giretto di Pio IV, a semicircular corridor that houses the museum’s archaeological gallery and onto which open several small rooms that cannot always be visited.
The Sala Paolina is a riot of frescoes, stucco and marble, a masterpiece of 16th-century art aimed at exalting the figure of Pope Paul III as a cultured and enlightened Renaissance prince. The decorations of this state room were executed by Perin del Vaga, Raphael’s most refined follower, and many of his collaborators, and illustrate stories of St. Paul and Alexander the Great, alternating with mythological figures, allegorical figures of cardinal virtues, festoons of fruit, mock architecture and grotesques. The Pauline apartment also includes the pontiff’s bedroom, namely the Room of Cupid and Psyche, and his study, namely the Room of Perseus. And to think that Paul III never lived in Castel Sant’Angelo!
Sixth level
Through the so-called Pompeian Corridor, a passageway thickly decorated with grotesques, from the Sala Paolina one enters the elevated part of the Farnese rooms, all decorated by Luzio Luzi: the Library Room, covered by a vault in which stuccoes and grotesques still dominate, the adjoining Festoni and Adrianeo rooms, the Treasure Room, the Cagliostra (the cell that housed the Count of Cagliostro) and the Appartamento del Castellano, intended for the highest authority responsible for the defense of the Papal State and recently opened to the public.
Seventh level
This is it, or rather… you are there! You have conquered the seventh level, the highest accessible part of Castel Sant’Angelo, and you can finally “collect” your prize. After the Sala Rotonda and the Sala delle Colonne, continuing to climb, you will arrive at the Terrazza dell’Angelo, where you will enjoy a breathtaking view of Rome. From this extraordinary vantage point, dominated by the statue of Archangel Michael, your gaze can wander almost 360 degrees and get lost on the domes, the palaces, the Tiber and the many wonders of the most beautiful city in the world.
It was on this very terrace more than 500 years ago that the Girandola di Castel Sant’Angelo, a fireworks display famous throughout Europe, began to take place, held at Easter and on June 29, the feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul, the patron saints of Rome. To celebrate this holiday, for the past few years the fireworks on the Terrace of the Angel have returned to light up the skies of the Eternal City.
Sant’Angelo Bridge yesterday and today
The history of this bridge is as old as the building to which it leads. It was built by Hadrian and was named after him, being called the Aelius Bridge (the emperor’s full name was Publius Aelius Trajan Hadrian). The original structure had three arches and took on its present appearance only in 1882. In its 20 centuries of life it has been traversed by millions and millions of people and was busy as early as 1300 when, on the occasion of the first Jubilee in history, access to the bridge was regulated due to the large crowds of pilgrims passing through. In 1450 the crush of pilgrims even caused some of the balustrades of the bridge to collapse, and dozens of people died in this incident. For decades the bridge was also used to display the victims of executions so that they would be a macabre warning to the population. In 1668 Ponte Sant’Angelo was adorned with 10 monumental statues of angels holding symbols of the Passion, made by pupils and collaborators of Gian Lorenzo Bernini to his designs. Bernini did not limit himself to the design of these statues but made two, theAngel with the Crown of Thorns and theAngel with the Cartouche, which are preserved in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, not far from their original destination.
Today, the angels of the bridge watch over the countless tourists who come and go from Castel Sant’Angelo, the many squatters trying to make a few bucks, and those looking for the best shot for a perfect selfie or a photo to remember.
It is useful to know
- Every first Sunday of the month, access to Castel Sant’Angelo is free.
- On the Museum’s official website ( click here ) you will find all the practical information you need to plan your visit. The official Facebook page of Castel Sant’Angelo, on the other hand, is full of photographs, trivia and insights into the museum’s works and environments.
- If you are looking for a special location in which to celebrate an important event, know that it is possible to rent some of Castel Sant’Angelo’s rooms exclusively for private events.
