Castel Sant’angelo was initially commissioned by Emperor
Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The Elio Bridge
was built specially in 135 BC to connect Campo Marzio with the
tomb.
The name of the monument is attributable to the large statue
of an angel on the top terrace in memory of the apparition in
the 17th century of an angel who announced the end of the plague
to Pope Gregory I. The bell “della Misericordia”,
near the statue of the angel, was originally rung to inform the
people of executions.
The Vatican Corridor, built at the end of the thirteenth century,
connected Castel Sant’Angelo to the Vatican Palace and acted
as a raised passageway for the Pope to escape in the event of
a siege.
click here: Guided
tour Castel Sant Angelo
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