This castle has a long history. It began as a memorial tomb for Hadrian and his descendants starting around 135 CE. The ashes of all the succeeding emperors were placed there up to 217 CE. By 400 CE it was modified into a fort and was subsequently looted by the Visigoths in 410 CE. During a plague in 590 CE the pope was leading a procession through Rome when he saw the Archangel Michael on the top of the fortress sheathing his flaming sword. This was a sign that the plague was to end and in fact it did. The pope saw this as a sign and he renovated the building and several popes used it a s a safe house / residence when times got tough. At least two popes used a covered walkway from the Vatican over to the castle to escape some local unrest. We spent hours there climbing the various stairways and looking out over Rome.
This time we took the bus
Baby coots
A nicely decorated bridge
It is quite impressive
Not bad for 2000 years old
A couple of big heads to greet us
Up close the size is evident
Some old time implements of living
Grinding all things that need grinding
The stairways are curved
Old time implements of war
A young gull poking around the cannon balls
The Tiber from up on high
A cool opening in the wall
A platform towards the top
We can see the bridge below
The pope's residences are on the next two levels
The doors within doors make me smile
More stabbing tools
Looking up three floors through this shaft
It was used for ventilation
A poem by Hadrian
An example of a royal urn
I believe that the real urns may have been nicer
In this gallery they had four different models of how the building looked over time
Some paintings too
This is how Hadrian had it set up. Marble casings on the brick walls and a huge four horse drawn chariot on top
Wild horses indeed
Some examples of the marble decorations
A good looking emperor or two
After much of the marble had been re-used and it was just a fort
The vent that we looked up into before
When the Popes made it fancy
A huge flag on top
This archangel had been up on the top for 500 years but he retired and was able to descend to a lower level
The well
The pope left some fine furniture
Frescoes
An interesting piece
The cupids are just flying heads
Not all the frescoes are intact
Pope's bed
The attention to the ceilings is a Italian virtue
With a pretty border
A golden archangel
Hi down there
Apollo's room
Big Bees
Bells and the Archangel up top
No ringing while we were here
Fine views of Rome
This was the walkway for the Pope to reach his safe house
A little cafe
Watch pout for the seagulls
More steps
Another Pope designed these quarters
Very detailed
Big too
He had to wear someone else's vestments, clearly they were too big for him
The treasury
Fireworks shows were very popular here
Top level
Crest
The higher we go the fancier it gets
Unicorn heaven
Not so good for the dragons
Pope Paul III
Door in a door in a door
This place keeps on going
I am glad that I was not on well duty
Time for a rest
An elevator was put in later
The holes were where the marble decorations were attcahed
Heading out
It has been 2 years and 357 days since we began our Migration
