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January 23, 2005
A Week in Rome: Castel Sant' Angelo
Introduction
The Colosseum
Palatine Hill
The Forum
The Pantheon
The Vatican Museum
St. Peter in Chains
Imperial Lion
St Peter's Square and Basilica
Atop St. Peter's Dome
Sometimes, being the Pope isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes you just can't get love from The People the way you do from the Big Guy upstairs. And when the little people get ornery, sometimes you just need a conveniently located heavily fortified castle in which to flee their pitchforks. You need Castel Sant' Angelo!
That's right, this many bedroom, no bath riverfront property with a full dungeon located near downtown Vatican City is just waiting for a savvy but unpopular Pope to make it his own.
The place was originally built as a mausoleum for Hadrian, but some business with Pope Gregory and a visit from the archangel Michael, or maybe just some moldy bread, made it a choice spot for Popes under siege. In any case, it's not very attractive on the inside--one of the big reasons to go there is the view. The other is that it's a short walk from St. Peter's and a good stop on your way back into the Old City of Rome.
Michael keeps an eye on things from the top:
Don't mess with that dude...
From the castle you can see some of Rome's nicer neighborhoods spread out with the famous hills beyond.
A rather lousy cafe with nice views of St. Peter's is on an upper level.
Posted by Susan the Human at January 23, 2005 9:08 PM
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