Rome, the great witness to a past rich in history, the great collection of artistic masterpieces wich together represent the most complet and unmatchable expression of man. The ruins, scattered around everywhere, speak to us of the happy times characterised by the cult of power and military glory, but mitigated by refined artistic taste.
Of the precious architectures of the past, one of the most majestic and imposing is undoubtedly the " Mole Adriana" or " Hadrianeum", more commonly known as " Castel Sant'Angelo".The construction of the magnificent mausoleum intended by the Emperor Hadrian as a sepulchre for himself and his successors, was began in 124 A.D. and was completed one year after the death of Antoninus Pius in 139 A.D. The members of the imperial family from Hadrian to Caracalla, killed in 217, were buried in the Mausoleum. In 271 it was included in the Aurelian wall, and in 410 it was sacked by the Goths of Alaric. It was first used as a fortress during the siege of Vitigis, another king of the Goths. During the XV and XVI centuries it took on its present appearance; and as it was built as a refuge for the Popes, their apartments were decoratedby the several of the same artists who worked in the Vatican. In case of danger, the Popes could reach it directly from the Vatican, through a covered corridor called the Passetto.
The name of Castel Sant'Angelo is derived from the vision of Pope Gregory I who in 590 led a procession to petition God to stop a plague; while crossing the bridge he saw on top of the fortress the Archangel Michael sheathing a flaming sword, the divine signal that the pestilence was over.
This place has also acquired a sinister fameas a state prison, you have its parallel in the Tower of London; many visitors will recall Castel Sant'Angelo from the opera La Tosca in wich it appears in the third act as a prison.
