Dan Brown’s book, “Angels and Demons” flashed through my mind as I crossed the Ponte Sant’Angelo one morning in Rome. Ten Baroque statues of angels line the bridge, each bearing a symbol of the suffering and death of Christ. Designed by Bernini in the early 18th century, they look down demurely at passersby from their travertine marble perches. They feel like a silent presence, outwardly still but internally watchful.
Over the past 2,000 years, Castel Sant’Angelo has been more than a funerary monument. It was used as a fortified outpost, a notorious prison complete with torture chamber, a palace for the popes embellished with Renaissance art, the keep of the Vatican treasury and finally a museum.
In ancient Rome, tombs were not allowed inside the city limits. This pertained to the emperors as well, even though they were looked upon as gods. So Hadrian chose a commanding position just outside the city walls and across the river. Even today, it holds a stately presence among the many monuments of Rome.
It helps to get a bit organized so i’ve included a brief overview of the 6 levels of Castel Sant’Angelo:
Level 1- Begins the winding Roman construction ramp, the Courtyard of the Shooting and the Chapel of the Condemned.
Level 2- Hall of Urns, former prisons and storerooms
Level 3- Military displays, papal apartments, courtyard of the angel (Cortile dell’Angel), which houses the former archangel, Hall of Justice
Level 4- Exquisitely decorated papal apartment with sumptuous frescoes by artists of the school of Raphael (Luca Signorelli, Carlo Crivelli), archaeological gallery, historic armory.
Level 5- Treasury, Library
Level 6- The Angel Terrace providing amazing views of Rome, especially the Vatican and St. Peters Basilica
Upon entering, an old cobbled road winds around the base. This fortress has a lot of stairs. One leads down to the original Roman floor and follows the route of Hadrian’s funeral procession. There is a bridge that crosses the room where the ashes of the emperors were kept. The urns and ashes were scattered by Visigoth looters during a sacking of Rome in 410.
The Angel Terrace offers dazzling views of Rome from several directions. The wind was gusty so walking from one end to the other for a view was slightly challenging.
So what’s the deal about the angel Michael? As the story goes, in the year 590, the Archangel Michael appeared above the mausoleum to Pope Gregory. The angel sheathed his sword, and the pope took it as a sign that the plague was ended. It soon became a fortified palace renamed castle of the holy angel.
Close beside the Archangel Michael is a large bell, called the Bell of Mercy. Beginning in the mid 1700’s it was wrung to inform the people of capital executions of the prisoners while a prison.
As the grand finale, enjoy some views of Rome taken from the Angel’s Terrace
I remember walking past it 5 years ago and wanted to go in but ran out of time. It is an amazing building. Then again, what isn’t in Italy!
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Thanks for the great photos. They bring back happy memories.
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Great post Susan and some stunning pics. I did a night time tour last week and it is an amazing place! The Passetto was open at this time so very much an Angels and Demons link!
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Thank you! I would love to do a night time tour…esp. the Passetto. My imagination would run wild, i’m sure:)
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We stayed very close to Castel Sant’Angelo so got to enjoy views of it from my room and many walks across the bridge. But we didn’t have a chance to tour — just not enough time. From your article, I know that it will be a must-do on my next visit. The Passetto di Borgo fascinates me — just think about those popes hurrying along it.
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Hi Cathy, yes I totally agree about the Passetto! Intrigue at its best for sure. Thanks for the comment, and for sharing:)
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Great post. Wonderful building. Terrible book. 🙂
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Hi Marie, glad you liked it. I must confess that I did get caught up in the book….and it certainly brought a lot of the Castel Sant’Angelo to life. But I get you….thank you for stopping by!
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It was the ending more than anything. I wanted Langdon (?) to get blown up by the bomb on the helicopter or at least break every bone in his body. 🙂 There was no way he glided to earth using a tarp as a parachute.
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Yeah, that’s really stretching the imagination….
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Great article Susan….we were there during xmas…they have a nice ice skating rink there ….awesome backdrop for ice skating right? 🙂
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No kidding? Now that I had no idea about…yeah can’t think of a more impressive backdrop for ice skating!
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Quanto sei bella Roma!
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Another beautiful post, Susan. We have passed it several times, but never been inside.
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Thanks Ken…do stop next time:)
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I spent a delightful afternoon in this amazing place last year. Excellent views. Great photos
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