Castel Sant'Angelo

This was definitely a highlight of my trip because I had never seen Castel Sant'Angelo before and it's amazing! I read about it in advance and learned that it was originally built as a tomb for Emporer Hadrian and then it was used as a castle to protect popes... they built a secret passage connecting it to the Vatican - when you're in Rome you can see how they could do that location-wise. It's pretty cool. I also read that the angel bridge leading to the castle is beautiful at night b/c of the angels and lights - it is written in many of the tourist books. Well, they're wrong - it's not really beautiful at night at all. But it is such an impressive sight during the day. We climbed up the castle and took amazing pictures of the city - it is one of the best places to view Rome. (The dome of St. Peter's Basilica is another.. we also climbed that and the views were incredible as well.)




















"The Castel Sant'Angelo is a towering cylindrical building in Rome, initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building spent over a thousand years as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.


The Tomb of Hadrian was erected on the right bank of the Tiber, between 135 and 139. Originally, the mausoleum was a decorated cylinder, with a garden top and the golden quadriga of the emperor.


The popes converted the structure into a castle, from the 14th century; Pope Nicholas III connected the castle to St. Peter's Basilica by a covered fortified corridor called the Passetto di Borgo."


[Via Wikipedia]