Saturday, March 19, 2011 (Part 6)Our last tourist stop on this very long day (after spend some leisure time in St. Peter's Square) was to walk through Castel San' Angelo. The "castle" is almost as old as the Vatican and it has a very checkered past. It has been used for
many different purposes, including as a mausoleum (originally), a fort, and a residence for popes during times of unrest. It sits along the street that leads directly into Vatican City, and it is an interesting building from the
outside because of its circular shape.
Because of its varied past, however, the Castle (I think) suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. It's rather confusing inside, and it clearly hasn't attracted much attention as a site for serious preservation. This, perhaps, is very much reflective of its diverse uses over time. We saw what little there was to see, but against the splendor of Vatican City, it was hard to be impressed.
We wandered through the rooms and saw Emperor Hadrian's
mausoleum (which dates the construction of the building to 139 AD) and some of the rooms occupied by various Popes, which
still house some interesting frescoes on the walls.
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