Thank you dear Sue, I will tell my son!
Here comes a picture of St. Angel's Castle and the bridge. I love it!
A short description:
St. Angel's Castle
On the left side of the river Tevere (Tiber), on the opposite side of historical centre of Rome, there is St. Angel's Castle (Castel Sant'Angelo) formerly the main fortress of Papal Court.
Initially it was the mausoleum built to hold the tombs of emperor Hadrian and his family: the construction began in 135 and was completed by his heir Antonino the Pious. The monument consisted of a stone square basement of 80 meters each side, upon which there was a cylindrical wall 20 meters high, on whose top there was a heap of earth ending with the statue of the emperor.
During Middle Ages the popes gradually transformed it into a fortress, building upon the cylinder a new stone floor with the crenelation upon the surrounding walls. They built also the fortified passage connecting to the Vatican palaces.
After the ill-famed Sack of Rome made by Lansquenet in 1527, it was arranged inside the castle a private apartment as refuge for the Pope and his Court in case of another invasion. The apartment shows a great contrast between the military exterior and the refined interiors. The fortress hosted also the prisons.
The castle took its name under the reign of pope Gregorius Magnus in the VI century when, during a heavy epidemic of plague who hit Rome, on top of the fortress appeared an angel who sheated his sword: this image was interpreted as a good sign for the end of God's punishment.
Love, Margherita
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