It is connected
to the left bank of the Tiber by
Ponte Elio, today's Ponte
Sant'Angelo, decorated with ten
marble statues of angels with the
symbols of the passion of Christ,
carved after a design by Gian
Lorenzo Bernini. The monument's
fate was decided in 403, when the
Emperor Honorius incorporated it
into the city walls, making it into
a bridgehead on the river. From the
13th century it became an annexe of
the nearby Vatican, and Pope
Nicholas III created the famous
Passetto di Borgo, a covered
corridor connecting St. Peter's to
the Castle.
The fortress became famous down
through time, especially as a
prison; here Benvenuto Cellini and
the famous adventurer Giuseppe
Balsamo,
known as the Count of
Cagliostro, were imprisoned.
The name with which the fortress is
known derives from a miraculous
event which took place in 590: Rome
was in the midst of a severe
plague, and Pope Gregory the Great
had organised a solemn procession
to pray for its end. When the
procession reached the Mole of
Hadrian, Archangel Michael was seen
flying up and sheathing his flaming
sword, symbolising the end of the
plague. The statue of the angel,
placed on the top of the castle to
commemorate the event, was replaced
six times.
Leaving Castel Sant'Angelo
behind us and again going along the
Tiber,
we go past the Palace of Justice
and reach Ponte Cavour, on the
other side of which is the
Ara Pacis.
The altar of
peace was ordered by Augustus to
celebrate the peace in the Empire
after the conquests of Gaul and
Spain. The monument, which
originally stood near the
present-day Via in Lucina in the
Campus Martius quarter, was moved
here in 1938.
Before the altar is the
Mausoleum built by Augustus
as a tomb for himself and his
family.
The monument, which fell into abandon, was at various times used as a vineyard, a garden and, in the late 16th century, an area for tournaments and bullfights. At the end of the 19th century it was called Anfiteatro Umberto, and from 1905 to 1930 it was a concert hall called Augusteo. At the end of the 1930s the monument was separated from its surroundings, with the creation of the large piazza Augusto Imperatore.
Right on the
piazza, at no. 9, we recommend the
restaurant 'Gusto (06 3226273),
with extremely refined cuisine and
decor; on Saturdays and Sundays it
is also open for lunch. Also, for
excellent fettuccine, at no. 30
there is Alfredo all'Augusteo (06
6878734). Length of itinerary:
entire day.
Practical information: Synagogue
and Jewish Museum, open from 9 a.m.
to 4.30 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m.
to 1.30 p.m., Sundays from 9 a.m.
to noon,
closed Saturdays. Castel
Sant'Angelo, open from 9 a.m. to 6
p.m., closed Mondays.
