When the Pope resolved to return to Rome after the Avignon exile, one condition was non-negotiable: he must have the keys to the castle. Known simply as The Castle to the Romans, Castel Sant’Angelo served as the Pope’s impregnable fortress—a safe haven in times of attack. Connected to the Vatican by a secret corridor, this castle is a living chronicle of Rome’s history.
Originally built as Emperor Hadrian’s mausoleum, it later became a fortress, then a papal residence, a prison, and finally a museum. Castel Sant’Angelo stands as the witness of a city that has never truly died; the past is physically the foundation of the present.