Day 38 - Castel Sant'Angelo

This castle is a place that many tourists miss out on - the reason being, most likely, a lack of time. It's not one of the big things that everybody has heard of, like the Trevi Fountain or the Colosseum, but it's a real jewel nonetheless. This shot is actually of it's back door. It's my favorite one of the shots I took from the outside.

Castel Sant'Angelo translated is "Castle of the Holy Angel" and the legend goes that the archangel Michael appeared on its top sheathing his sword to signify the end of the plague. It was originally built to be a mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family but it was later used as as a prison, a fortress and a resident castle by the popes. There's even a tunnel linking the fortress to the Vatican. Passetto di Borgo, as it is called, is 800 m long and runs inside a large brick wall. Pope Clemens VII actually used it to escape when Charles VIII invaded the city in 1527.

/MrsHjort