Ancient and beautiful Italy for many centuries impresses guests with the beauty of its nature and unique monuments of history and architecture. If you want to visit this sunny and hospitable country to see the sights of Italy, you can find photos with the names of memorable places in the advertising leaflets of the travel company and choose for yourself the most interesting places.
Sights of Rome
Thousands of tourists come to the Eternal City every year to see the sights of Italy with their own eyes. You can see photos with the names of the most significant monuments in the guide. You can buy it right at the airport.
According to an ancient legend, the city received its name from its founders - the brothers Romulus and Remus, whom the she-wolf found and fed. A monument dedicated to this story can be seen at the Capitol Museum. Romulus is the first Roman king. 753 BC It is considered to be the time of the foundation of Rome. The eternal city stands on the two banks of the Tiber River.
Many study tours in Rome begin with the famous Pantheon. This is one of the best preserved buildings of ancient civilization. The temple was built in the period from 118 to 125 years of our era as a dedication to all pagan gods. It was erected during the reign of Emperor Hadrian on the site of a cathedral burned down by fire.
Roman Coliseum
Photos of this building are familiar to every student. The Colosseum was built in the city center on Piazza del Colosseo by the emperor Vespasian, who is the founder of the Flavian dynasty. Therefore, at first the Colosseum was called the Flavian Amphitheater. Its construction lasted eight years.
Temple of Il Gesu
Church of the late Renaissance (XVI century). In the 17th century, its austere interior was richly decorated. Today, frescoes, sculptures, shrines stored in these walls have made the church of Il Gesu a valuable monument of the Roman Baroque era. It is preserved in good condition.
Castle (Mausoleum) of Sant'Angelo
A beautiful building, known by another name - the mausoleum of Hadrian. This name was given to the building in honor of its founder, Emperor Hadrian. It is amazing that the construction of this huge building was completed in four years (135 AD) .Much later, it became known as the Castle of the Holy Angel. In Rome, a photo of him can be found quite often. In Italy, now more often it is called that way.
Temples, medieval castles of Rome deserve the attention of tourists, so we will dwell on them in more detail today.
The history of the castle
If you go on an excursion to this mysterious place, then you will probably hear from the guide that this building was originally planned as a tomb. There was no talk of building a castle. Emperor Hadrian sensed the approach of death and ordered the construction of a huge mausoleum, where it was planned to keep the remains of him and his family members.
It was decided to build such a tomb not in the city, but on the other side of the Tiber. So that the ceremony of seeing off was not too complicated, it was decided to simultaneously build a stone bridge that would connect the Field of Mars with the tomb. The emperor did not live to see the end of construction. It ended almost a year after the emperor died. The final stage of work was led by Anthony Pius. He also ordered the transfer of the remains of Emperor Hadrian to his own Mausoleum.
Of the emperors buried in the tomb, Semtius Severus became the last. After that, it was as if they had forgotten about this building for a long 60 years.
The construction of the fortress wall
Since the structure was built outside the city, its strategic importance was extremely important. The first to understand this was Emperor Aurelian, who had to constantly protect Rome from the attack of vandals and barbarians. He made a very important decision - to build a fortress wall around the mausoleum. Thus, the mausoleum of Hadrian turned into an impregnable fortress. In 400 - 500 years, raids on the city became more frequent. The fortress, like many other medieval castles, helped the Romans fight the invaders. Molten resin poured on their heads, huge stones flew.
The new name of the castle
In 590, the city was haunted by endless troubles. One of them was the plague epidemic. In those days, they could not fight her. People covered in terrible ulcers fell dead on the streets of the city. It seemed that soon the Eternal City would simply disappear.
According to an ancient legend that the Romans love to tell, Pope Gregory, surrounded by many believers and with prayers on his lips, walked around the city, urging God to stop the terrible epidemic. When Gregory, along with the faithful, stepped onto the Elio bridge, an angel fell on the roof of the tomb. It was the archangel Michael. In front of the amazed crowd, he sheathed his sword and disappeared. Naturally, it was perceived as God's mercy. But the main thing is that from this moment the epidemic in the city has waned.
In the name of Archangel Michael a statue was made. It was installed on the site of the holy phenomenon. Then she was transferred to the garden. The statue that crowns the castle today was made much later - in 1753. It was carried out by the famous architect at that time, Pietro van Verscaffelt.
He faced a difficult task. It was necessary to create a sculpture in such a way that it was completely clear that Archangel Michael sheaths the sword, and does not draw it. The solution turned out to be simple, like all ingenious. The archangel performed by Werskaffelt, holding on to the hilt of his sword, looks at it, which the warrior who drew the sword never did. Interestingly, before there was already an attempt by another sculptor to create the image of the archangel. According to his idea, Michael simply stood and looked at the Romans from a height. Almost immediately after planting, a lightning bolt hit the statue. Apparently, the higher powers did not like this interpretation.
Castle in the middle ages
It is natural that after the appearance of an angel for believers, the Castle of the Holy Angel became not just a fortress, but also a place of pilgrimage.
In the interior of the tomb, changes began to occur. Luxurious rooms decorated with marble and gilding appeared. The popes lived in them, and if necessary, hid themselves. The troops of Charles V for a long time tried to capture the fortress (1527), but they failed to do so. At this time, Clement VII was hiding here. He was guarded by the guards, mostly Swiss.
In those days when the power of the Pope was very strong, the Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome, or rather, its cellars, began to be built up with prison cells. They included those who questioned the faith, or those who decided to take a desperate action to overthrow one or another pope. The famous Benvenuto Cellini also got here . He was imprisoned in the castle in 1537. He was accused of kidnapping the papal tiara. In the entire history of the fortress, this was the only prisoner who could escape from it. Unfortunately, he did not manage to hide for a long time. Soon he was found and again placed in a cell. He did not die in the dungeons, was not walled up alive in the wall (which happened here quite often). Just after a while he was acquitted and released.
Today, many tourists can see on the walls of his cell a hand-drawn genius drawing - “Jesus Risen”.
Famous prisoners
The Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome became the place of confinement of the greatest scientists, artists, poets. Here at different times, Galileo Galilei, Pomponius Let, Giordano Bruno visited, during the Inquisition, Count Cagliostro served his sentence. Historians claim that the last prisoners of the castle were fighters against the interim government (XIX century). And only after them the prison cells of the castle were empty. The number of victims of this terrible place, including those walled up alive in the walls, is almost impossible to calculate.
Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome today
As already mentioned, this is one of the best-preserved sights of the Eternal City. Today, the National Museum is located here. All guests of the city are eager to get here. In the alleys surrounding the museum, exhibitions, fairs, fun parties are organized. The Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome, the photo of which we posted in this article, is the greatest monument of history and architecture. It shows the whole history of a great country. Having visited the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, tourists leave the most diverse reviews. Some admire the monumentality of the structure, others experience negative feelings after learning about the stories taking place in it.
Castle of the Holy Angel in Rome: how to get there
The famous monument is located in the heart of the Eternal City, on the banks of the Tiber, near the Vatican. You can take bus number 40 at the main station. He will take you to the museum. You can also get by metro. You will need a train running on line A to the Lepanto station.
If you want to visit the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, the museum’s opening hours are very convenient. Six days a week (except Mondays) the museum expects guests from 9.00 to 19.30. Admission is paid - 8 euros per person.
"Roman castles"
You are deeply mistaken if you think that in the capital of Italy you can visit only the Castle of the Holy Angel. There are many wonderful places in Rome that require special attention of tourists.
If the Castle of the Holy Angel, whose photo is often printed in brochures and guidebooks, is a fortress, then the “Roman castles” are small towns that are mainly located in the vicinity of Rome. For almost 400 years, many famous people have been moving here. Since the XVII century, all the popes spend the summer in their residence on the shores of Lake Albano.
A picturesque group of cities in the vicinity of Rome - "Roman Castles" - a favorite vacation spot for Italians. This tradition is maintained today. The inhabitants of Rome come here to take a break from the bustle of the city, to stockpile the best wines and olive oil, to admire the magnificent nature. But most importantly, in the "Roman Castles" you will not see any castles.
Vatican Museums
This is one of the most valuable sights of Italy - the oldest museums in the world. This is confirmed by the richest collection of masterpieces collected within these walls. The history of the Vatican Museums began at the beginning of the 16th century. One of the most prominent sections of the museum is the Sistine Chapel. Here you can see the Egyptian, ethnological, Gregorian museums, the museum of Pius Clement, the apartments of Borgia, the room of Raphael.
You can talk a lot about the monuments of magnificent Italy. Museums, temples, the castle of the Holy Angel in Rome - reviews of tourists about visiting these places are simply enthusiastic.