Castel Sant'Angelo

Why go

Castel Sant'Angelo is the Mausoleum of Hadrian, which became a fortified castle and, in 1925, a museum, according to Rome's official tourism site; it stands at the far end of the Ponte Sant'Angelo, near St Peter's Basilica. The same site describes it as at once a monument, an archaeological area and a museum, with collections drawn from three parts: the Roman remains of the imperial mausoleum, the fortified castle and the papal apartments. The Passetto di Borgo, the fortified raised passage on the Vatican walls that popes used to reach the castle, opens to visitors only at certain times of the year, per the tourism site. Rome's tourism office lists the castle among the sites of the Ministry of Culture's Pantheon and Castel Sant'Angelo museum directorate; the directorate's website could not be opened for this record, so its entry rules are not given here. This record is the building; the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo is its present use.