Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome: history, description, photo

Ancient and beautiful Italy has for many centuries amazed visitors with the beauty of its nature and unique monuments of history and architecture. If you want to visit this sunny and hospitable country to see the sights of Italy, photos with the names of memorable places can be found in the advertising booklets of the travel company and choose for yourself the most interesting places.

Sights of Rome

In the Eternal City every year thousands of tourists come to see the sights of Italy with their own eyes. Photo with the names of the most significant monuments you can see in the guide. Buy it right at the airport.

According to an ancient legend, the city received the name from its founders - the Romulus and Remus brothers, whom the wolf found and nurtured. The monument dedicated to this story can be seen in the Capitol Museum. Romulus is the first Roman king. 753 BCE Is considered to be the time of the foundation of Rome. The eternal city stands on the two banks of the Tiber River.

Many sightseeing tours around Rome begin with the famous Pantheon. This is one of the best preserved buildings of ancient civilization. The temple was built in the period from 118 to 125 AD as a dedication to all pagan gods. It was erected during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in the place of the cathedral burnt from the fire.

Roman Coliseum

Photo of this building is familiar to every schoolboy. The Colosseum was built in the center of the city in Piazza del Colosseo by Emperor Vespasian, who is the founder of the Flavian dynasty. Therefore, in the beginning, the Colosseum was named the Flavian Amphitheater. Its construction lasted eight years.

Temple of Ile Jesu

Church of the Late Renaissance (16th century). In the XVII century, its strict interior was richly decorated. Today, frescoes, sculptures, shrines, kept in these walls, have made the church of Ile Gesu the most valuable monument of the Roman Baroque era. Preserved in good condition.

Castle (mausoleum) Sant Angelo

A beautiful structure, known even under one name - the mausoleum of Hadrian. This name was given to the building in honor of its founder, Emperor Hadrian. It is amazing that the construction of this huge building was completed in four years (135 AD) Much later it was called the Castle of the Holy Angel. In Rome, it can be found quite often. In Italy, now it is more often called this way.

Temples, medieval castles of Rome deserve the attention of tourists, so we will discuss them in detail today.

History of the appearance of the castle

If you go on an excursion to this mysterious place, then for sure the guide will hear that originally this building was planned as a tomb. Speech building did not go on. Emperor Hadrian sensed the approach of death and ordered the construction of a huge mausoleum, where it was planned to store the remains of him and his family members.

It was decided to build such a burial vault not in the city, but on the other side of the Tiber. To make the ceremony of the wires not too complicated, it was decided to build a stone bridge that would connect the Field of Mars with the tomb at the same time. Until the end of the construction of the emperor did not live to see. It ended almost a year after the emperor was gone. Managed the final stage of the work of Antony Pius. He also ordered the transfer of the remains of Emperor Hadrian to his own Mausoleum.

Of the emperors buried in the burial vault, the last was the North North. After that, this building was forgotten for a long 60 years.

Erection of the fortress wall

Since the structure was built outside the city, its strategic importance proved to be extremely important. The first to understand this was the Emperor Aurelianus, who had to constantly defend Rome from the attack of vandals and barbarians. He made a very important decision to build a fortified wall around the mausoleum. Thus, the mausoleum of Adrian turned into an impregnable fortress. In 400 - 500 years, raids on the city became frequent. The fortress, like many other medieval castles, helped the Romans to fight the invaders. Molten resin poured on their heads, huge stones flew.

The new name of the castle

In 590, the city was haunted by endless misfortunes. One of them was the plague epidemic. In those days, it could not be fought against. People, covered with terrible ulcers, fell dead directly on the streets of the city. It seemed that soon the "Eternal City" would simply disappear.

According to an ancient legend, which the Romans like to tell, Pope Gregory, surrounded by many believers and prayed on his lips, went around the city, urging God to stop a terrible epidemic. When Gregory joined the faithful on the Elio Bridge, the angel descended on the roof of the tomb. It was the archangel Michael. In front of the amazed crowd, he put his sword in its sheath and disappeared. Naturally, this was perceived as God's mercy. But the main thing is that from that moment the epidemic in the city began to decline.

In the name of the Archangel Michael, a statue was made. It was installed in the place of the holy phenomenon. Then she was transferred to the garden. The statue, which crowns the castle today, was made much later - in 1753. It was carried out by the then famous architect Pietro van Verskaffelt.

Before him there was a difficult task. It was necessary to create a sculpture in such a way that it was perfectly clear that the archangel Michael is putting the sword in its sheath, and does not get it. The solution was simple, like all ingenious. Archangel in Versaceffelt's performance, holding on to the hilt of the sword, looks at him, which the warrior who did not draw a sword has never done. It is interesting that before there was an attempt by another sculptor to create an image of the archangel. According to his idea, Michael just stood and looked at the Romans from the heights. Almost immediately after the installation in the statue struck by lightning. Apparently, the higher forces did not like this interpretation.

Castle in the Middle Ages

It is natural that after the appearance of an angel for believers, the Castle of the Holy Angel became not just a fortress, but also a place of pilgrimage.

Changes have taken place in the interior of the tomb. There were luxuriously decorated marble and gilt rooms. They lived in them, and if necessary, the Roman popes were hidden. The troops of Charles V for a long time tried to seize the fortress (1527), but they failed to do so. At this time, here was hidden Clement VII. He was guarded by guardsmen, mostly Swiss.

In those days, when the power of the Pope was very strong, the Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome, or rather, his cellars, began to be built up with prison cells. They turned out to be those who questioned the faith, or those who decided on a desperate action to overthrow this or that pope. The famous Benvenuto Cellini also came here . He was imprisoned in the castle in 1537. He was accused of kidnapping a papal tiara. In the history of the fortress, it was the only prisoner who managed to escape from it. Unfortunately, he did not manage to hide for long. Soon they found him and put him back in the cell. He did not die in the dungeons, he was not walled alive alive (which happened here quite often). Simply, he was acquitted after some time and released.

Today, many tourists can see on the walls of his camera a picture scrawled by the hand of a genius - "Jesus the Risen One".

Famous prisoners

The Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome became the place of imprisonment of the greatest scientists, artists, poets. Here at different times Galileo Galilei, Pomponius Leto, Giordano Bruno visited, Count Cagliostro served his sentence here during the Inquisition. Historians argue that the last prisoners of the castle were fighters against the interim government (XIX century). And only after them the prison cells of the castle were emptied. The number of victims of this terrible place, including those buried alive in the walls, is almost impossible to calculate.

Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome today

As already mentioned, this is one of the best preserved sights of the Eternal City. Today the National Museum is located here. All the guests of the city try to get here. On the alleys surrounding the museum, organize exhibitions, fairs, gay parties. The Castle of Saint Angel in Rome, the photo of which we have placed in this article, is the greatest monument of history and architecture. It shows the whole history of a great country. Visiting the Castle of St. Angelo in Rome, the reviews leave a wide variety of tourists. Some people admire the monumentality of the structure, while others experience negative feelings after learning about the stories in it.

Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome: how to get

The famous monument is located in the heart of the Eternal City, on the banks of the Tiber, not far from the Vatican. You can take bus number 40 at the main station. He will take you to the museum. You can get there by metro. You will need a train going on line A to the station "Lepanto".

If you want to visit the Castle of St. Angela in Rome, the opening hours of the museum are very convenient. Six days a week (except Monday) the museum expects guests from 9.00 to 19.30. Entrance fee - 8 euros per person.

"Roman castles"

You are deeply mistaken if you think that in the capital of Italy you can visit only the Castle of the Holy Angel. In Rome, a lot of wonderful places that require special attention of tourists.

If the Castle of the Holy Angel, a photo of which is often printed in promotional booklets and guidebooks, is a fortress, the "Roman castles" are small towns that are predominantly located in the vicinity of Rome. For almost 400 years, many famous people have moved here. Since the XVII century, all the Roman popes spend the summer in their residence on the shore of Lake Albano.

A picturesque group of cities in the vicinity of Rome - "Roman Castles" - a favorite vacation spot for Italians. This tradition is maintained today. Here come the inhabitants of Rome, to rest from the bustle of the city, to make reserves of the best wines and olive oil, to admire the magnificent nature. But the most important thing is that you will not see any locks in the "Roman Castles".

Museums of the Vatican

This is one of the most valuable sights of Italy - the oldest museums in the world. This is confirmed by the richest collection of masterpieces collected in these walls. The history of Vatican museums began in the early 16th century. One of the most outstanding sections of the museum is the Sistine Chapel. Here you can see Egyptian, ethnological, Gregorian museums, the Museum of Pius Clemente, the apartments of Borgia, the room of Raphael.

You can talk a lot about the monuments of magnificent Italy. Museums, temples, the castle of St. Angela in Rome - the tourists' reviews of the visits to these places are simply ecstatic.