Here you have a photo taken early in the morning to capture the St Angel Castle, one of the symbols of Rome! I always liked this old structure because it underlines very well the history, always in continuous evolution, of the city. For a local tour guide this is the perfect place in order to claim why Rome is so special: because the centuries and the changes (in a political, social or cultural way) could be seen still today thanks to majestic buildings like this one.

Originally the St Angel Castle was a mausoleum, a tomb built by the emperor Hadrian and used for years to house the mortal remains of the other emperors. Subsequently, thanks to Aurelian (emperor of the famous Aurelian Walls that still protect the city) the castle was turn to a fortress, strengthening it and changing the destination of use. The remains of Hadrian were always there, even if over the centuries his sarcophagus was first moved, and then dismembered (a clear example of reciclyng, a way to save time and money). A part is lost, especially the cover, while the sarcophagus was used by a pope for his burial. Going on the former mausoleum became a prison: we are in the period in which Rome, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, was controlled by the Goths. It was Theodoric, their king and the new King of Rome, to use it as a prison and fortress. A sign of the times, since Rome was constantly under siege and the battle field for numerous and bloody wars. But then, before becoming the castle beloved by the popes of the XVI and XVII century, the fortress was the theatre of the darkest period of Rome: the Middle Ages.

Often, in fact, it became the final desperate refuge for those popes, warlords or nobles who were able to take power in Rome by force, or that they had serious problems with the papacy. The Middle Ages was a hard time for the population of the city, who saw the noble families fighting with each other on the street or in the seat of the Conclave to take power. A city in an unsafe manner that led the citizens to rebel, so much so that once the people of Rome, raided the castle, destroying everything that they could. According to the chronicles, for example, many of the marble statues inside the castle, used by the ancient Romans as worthy ornaments of a mausoleum, were used as projectiles. A helpful episode to understand how to St Angel Castle, among many things, also an active witness to the long history of Rome. At the end we must thank the emperor Hadrian if we have something like that, thanking also his love for the greek style and art (click here to know more about him). But it is also true that the St Angel Castle is simply more: an architectonical evidence of the Eternal City. It is visible, and so I suggest to walk through the original ancient paths of the mausoleum, to admire the renaissance frescos of the rooms where the popes lived, to see the bronze statue which stands at the top of the building reminding us its christian side, but even to go to the main terrace of the St Angel Castle, joining one of the best city views of Rome.