Castel Sant’Angelo is one of Rome‘s most important tourist attractions. The monument started its existence as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian and his relatives. At present, after having served, in the course of the centuries, as fortress, hiding place for popes and prison, it houses the Museo di Castel Sant’Angelo.
A brief history of the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome
The history of the Castel Sant’Angelo is quite unique in the sense that it is almost the only building in Rome having survived for two thousand years without having been used as a quarry for newer constructions or fallen into ruin.
Construction of the castle took from 130 until to 139 AD. The emperor himself designed the project, while the architect Demetriano was in charge of the actual construction. The chosen site was directly across the river from the Mausoleum of Augustus, where all emperors after Augustus had been buried.
Hadrian himself, his wife and his adopted son Lucius Aurelius were buried there while construction was still going on, in the year 138. From then on, the urns of all the Emperors were placed in the mausoleum, probably in what is at present the Treasury. The last Emperor to be buried there was Caracalla (217).
In the beginning of the 5th century Augustus‘ mausoleum was transformed into a fortress and incorporated in the Aurelian Walls by order of Emperor Honorius. In 1410 the Visigoths led by Alaric attacked and plundered the castle and destroyed the urns containing the emperors’ ashes.
One of the most important features of the castle at the time was the quadriga, a golden chariot, which was however destroyed in 537 when it was used to defend the castle by throwing it on top of the attacking Goths.
In the year 590 Castel Sant’Angelo got its present name, when to indicate the end of an epidemic of the Plague the Archangel Saint Michael appeared on top of the castle and returned his sword to its sheath. There are people who think this is just a legend and did not really happen.
Whether or not this really took place, a year later a marble statue of Saint Michael made by Montelupo was placed on top of the castle. Nowadays this statue can be seen in the castle’s courtyard, whereas the one on the roof is a bronze copy made by the Flemish sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt.
In 1367, Pope Urban V got the keys to the castle. This marked the return of the Pope to Rome after the exile in Avignon.
The Passetto del Borgo was constructed, a passage connecting the Castel Sant’Angelo to Saint Peter’s Basilica and meant to serve as an escape route for the Pope in case of an attack on the Vatican. Still later a luxury apartment was built inside the castle, so that the Pope would lack nothing during a siege.
When the castle was transformed into a prison, a.o. Giordano Bruno was held there for 6 years. A statue of Giordano Bruno has since been placed in the center of the Campo de’ Fiori defiantly facing the Vatican.
In 1889, the castle was acquired by the state. It currently houses a museum, the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo.
What to see in the Castel Sant’Angelo
The mausoleum has a square, 89 by 89 meter, floor plan, with 15 meter tall, marble-clad walls. It used to be decorated with Greek statues. The enormous drum is 21 meters tall and has a 64 meter diameter. Another wall surrounding this internal building had bronze adornments. The famous peacocks in the Vatican courtyard. The current entrance faces the river.
Helicoidal ramp
The helicoidal staircase originally connected the atrium of the Mausoleum to the Room of the Urns, a difference in height of over 12 metres. The ramp is three metres wide and has a height of over six metres. When the mausoleum became a fortress, the ramp was buried, to only be reopened in the early 19th century.
Burial chamber
The actual burial chamber has a Greek floor plan and a height of 12 metres. It contained the mortal remains of not only Hadrian himself, but also his family members, subsequent emperors and their family members.
Angel
Originally, there probably used to be a statue of the emperor at the spot where the angel now stands.
The bridge across the Tiber, though constructed by Hadrian, also got the name Ponte Sant’Angelo.
Address, opening hours and admission
Address: Lungotevere Castello – Rome (tel. +39 06 6819111 (switchboard) or +39 06 32810 (information + reservations)).
Castel Sant’Angelo – Lungotevere Castello, Rome
Sources
- Ravaglioli, Armando – Vedere e capire Roma (1980).
- Photos are my own.
Leave a Reply