Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Moving on to the Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome

Along the Via di Corridori Borgo in Rome runs a high, wide wall from the Vatican to Castel Sant'Angelo. The wall was built in 1277. It is the Vatican Corridor (known locally as the Passetto), an escape route for the pope in times of trouble. We followed the wall to find Castel Sant'Angelo.

Following the Vatican Corridor

A way through to the other street

The corridor enters the Castel Sant'Angelo

The castel is surrounded by ramparts that make a nice garden area. We had a hard time deciding which way to walk around the ramparts to find the main entrance.

View from rampart to the back of the castle

Along the way, we discovered an outdoor sculpture dedicated to Catherine of Siena, beloved by Romans. The display includes her statue and some bas reliefs of scenes from her life, including her saving a man from execution and her stopping a burglar from robbing the convent.

Catherine of Siena sculpture

Scenes from her life

More scenes from her life

We walked a bit more and finally found the castle grounds and the entrance. More on the Castel in the next post!

J ready to go!

The family at the entrance

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