One of the finest and fascinating structures in Italy is the Castel Sant’Angelo. It is a tall cylindrical structure that stands in the city of Rome near Tiber River, the third longest river in Italy. I must admit that I’ve seen it only in pictures but the elegance of its architecture is undeniable.
In around 137 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian built Castel Sant’Angelo as a mausoleum for himself and his family. One year after his death, around 138 AD, his ashes were placed there together with those of his wife and son. Afterward, the remains of the Roman emperors that followed were also laid there of which the last on record was Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Bassianus.
The Castel also felt the atrocities of war. Emperor Flavius Augustus Honorius turned Castel Sant’Angelo into a military fortress against the invading Visigoth army but in 401 AD, Rome fell into the hands of Alaric I, the Visigoth’s king. They ransacked vital buildings including the Castel Sant’Angelo and scattering the urns and ashes in the tombs.
Later on, the popes turned the structure into a castle. It became a papal fortress, residence and a prison. In 1277, Pope Nicholas III built a fortified passage, which connected Vatican City to Castel Sant’Angelo. It served as a secret passage for Popes who are in danger. One of the most marked events in the history of Rome was the mutiny of Charles V’s (Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) troops in 1527. The gallantry of the Pope’s Swiss guards was renowned when they fought even though they were greatly outnumbered. Out of the 189 on duty, 147 were killed on the steps of St. Peter’s Bassilica and only 42 survived. Yet they were successful in defending Pope Clement VII. They escaped through the secret passage into the Castel.
Yet as a prison, its courtyards were witnesses to executions by decapitation and the heads of the condemned hung for days along the bridge as a cruel warning. One of those who were imprisoned in the Castel was Giordano Bruno, an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer, who was an advocate of the infinity of the universe. He was considered as a heretic and was burned at the stake during the Roman inquisition.
According to legend, Castel Sant’Angelo got its name when in 590 AD, Archangel Michael was said to have appeared on top of the Castel sheathing his sword, which they interpreted as a sign that would end the plague that hit the city. Previously, Rome suffered terribly from a catastrophic flood of the Tiber in 589, followed by an epidemic in 590.
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