Tag: “Passetto”

The best preserved castle in Rome From its first construction (in 139 A.D) to today, Castel Sant’Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel) has been a fortress and a prison, a place of miraculous appearances but also the papal residence and the headquarters of very important departments (such as the Secret Archive, which was miraculously saved from attacks and sieges), during the centuries where the Church exercised its spiritual and temporal power. But for those who love the opera, it is also the place of Tosca’s tragic ending; she seeks death throwing herself from the walkway because she cannot survive the love of her life. Today, Castel Sant’Angelo is one of the most visited monuments in Rome, and it owes its charm, as well to the place where it stands, to the magic aura that seems to come out of its stones, carved centuries ago by the artisans for whom Rome was well known outside the Vatican’s and Italy’s borders. One of the aspects attracting thousands of tourists and students every day is the “Passetto” (“Passage”) that connects the site to the Vatican Palaces; over the centuries, lots of legends were born around it, such as the ones about Pope Alexander VI (Pope Borgia or Borja, according to the original Spanish writing) who used it when he wanted to leave, for a few hours, the sacredness of Saint Peter’s holy rooms. In fact many Popes, throughout ages used this castle as their hiding place, a fortress or summer residence. The castle is like a huge layer cake or a slice of archaeological lasagna if you will, the lower half was built in the second century AD by the emperor Hadrian to be his family tomb, and the upper half was added by different Popes at different times. Castel Sant'Angelo or the