Castel Sant'Angelo aka Hadrian's Mausoleum

In Rome, history is EVERYWHERE. Right on the banks of the Tiber is this huge round building, which was originally built in the 2nd century CE by Hadrian as his family's mausoleum. Today, it is a museum and in the foreground here is the beautiful pedestrian only bridge which leads right to the entrance.

The original structure was only the lower cylindrical portion that has a rough exterior. That original structure was covered in marble and had a garden on top.

Roman emperors were buried in Hadrian's tomb for the next century up through Caracalla in 217 CE. In the 5th century it was converted into a military fortress. In the 14th century, the pope's of the nearby Vatican (a mere half kilometer away) built a passageway directly to the structure in which to take refuge when Rome was under siege. Throughout all the changes in function, the upper additions were added on as well as the defense wall. During the time when central Italy was officially called the Papal States, the building was used as a prison. In 1901 it was decommissioned and today it is a tourist site, museum and the location of perhaps the most stunning view of Rome.

If you remember the movie "Roman Holiday" the dance by the river and the subsequent tussle between Joe Bradley and Princess Ann was filmed right where the decrepit barge currently is moored.

The view to the Southeast. You'll see the Pantheon's dome and the building that looks like a wedding cake is the building that commemorates Victor Emmanuale II, the first president of Italy.

Looking west, St. Peter's in the distance on the left and somewhere underneath the ground is the secret passageway connecting the Vatican to Castel Sant'Angelo.

The angel of Sant'Angelo. From this point is where the heroine of "Tosca" commits suicide.

Looking Southwest, the Tiber and the Jiniculum hill.

Here's our man Hadrian. He was one of the great leaders of Rome. An internationalist, he spent most of his reign traveling throughout the Empire (with his male companion while his wife remained in Rome) taking stock of what was in the Empire. Hadrian did not expand the Empire.