Castel Sant'Angelo
2003.9.1 11:49 AM EST, Cannon Powershot S40, 1/250 sec., F/6.3, ISO 50.
Castel Sant'Angelo is a massive fortress on the right bank of the Tiber, about a mile from Saint Peter's Basilica, in Rome. Originally built (A.D. 135-39) by Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his successors. It was later decorated and fortified as a place of refuge for the popes. In 1277 it was connected to the Vatican Palace by a secret passage, The Vatican Corridor, to provide an escape route when the pope was in danger.
The bridge across the Tiber was built at the same time as the Mausoleum of Hadrian (in 134) and was named Ponte Elio, but when the mausoleum became a castle and took the name of Sant'Angelo, the bridge took the same name. In 1669 Pope Clement IX had Bernini design 10 statues on the balustrade, of angels holding the symbols of the Passion. Two of them were made by Bernini himself and the other 8 statues are work of his pupils.
2003.9.1 11:30 AM EST, Cannon Powershot S40, 1/250 sec., F/8, ISO 50.
Comments
Nice shot of the Castel Sant'Angelo. It's too bad you didn't have a chance to take a version without all the people. Then we could imagine ourselves to be looking at a snapshot of the distant past.
Posted by: Book Review | October 2, 2003 12:11 PM