*Visit II - Castel Sant' Angelo

After a morning of touring with the afternoon off, many of us headed off to Castel Sant’ Angelo, in ancient terms, Hadrian’s Mausoleum. Luckily, the wait in the heat of the sun was not long, and we were ushered in, paying a steep price of 8.50 euros to enter. We gathered ourselves and headed in, hit with cold castle air as we headed up a dark swirl. I began to wonder if I’d paid to be wandering around in a dark tunnel, only greeted occasionally by rocky indents, a few holey arches, and some unlabeled pottery.

However, I was glad to discover I was wrong. Over the course of the next two hours, we would wander in and out of many museum rooms full of artwork (mostly medieval and later), a series of maze-like courtyards, and long circular paths that rounded the building.

Coming upon a series of connected outdoor spaces, we photographed a few large statues, took a break for our feet, and even stumbled upon some old war weaponry. We found a large catapult, piles of marble balls, something we suspected made in the middle ages when the building became an active fortress. Later we stumbled upon a round turret on our way out, where we peered through the gate to see cannons and other war storage in a dark room illuminated by our camera flash. The armory displayed in the museum was by far my favorite artifact room – I favored the plumed helmets and the shimmering plates, even the elaborately decorated pistols and spearheads.

Amongst other objects, gold of course caught my eye, and passing the various Christian paintings inside, I came upon a few golden reliquaries, and some abstract objects I photographed below which I do not know the purpose of. These were by far some of my favorite pieces in the museum sections.

Besides golden artifacts, one statue in particular piqued my interest. In its interesting placement across from a series of paintings of Mary, this slinky skeleton of death stood cloaked and blindfolded. I snuck a quick picture, favoring it over the other sculptures and paintings in the mausoleum.

Though the art was all amazing, my eyes were ever upwards as usual, watching the ceilings I was not allowed to photograph, and those I was. Even with decorated insides, the covered walkways did not lack in interest, offering painted ceilings and overlooking a far view of Rome. As we walked this small circumference, there were many opportunities to overlook the river, as well as other sites we have seen and will see soon, such as the wedding cake and St. Peter’s.

After losing a couple of people and finding them once more, we took a break for our tired feet at the café before heading out. Nearing three, many of us were ready to wander and shop in the shade of the markets close by before heading back to campus. Enamored with its size and many rooms, the sentiment was that it was worth the money, navigating through the maze-like structure to see its history in artwork and its amazing views of the city.