Castel Sant'Angelo

• Lungotevere Castello, 50
• +39 06 6819111
• castelsantangelo.beniculturali.it/

The mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, it later became Castel Sant’Angelo when Pope Gregory I had a vision of the archangel Michael. Thanks to its secret passage (“the passetto”) connecting it to the Vatican, it was transformed into a fortress and refuge for popes. It was later a prison, barracks and museum. Inside, there are frescoes by Pinturicchio, while the bronze angel was made by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt in 1753.