CASTEL SANT’ ANGELO This castle was built by Emperor Adrian ( ) as a mausoleum for himself and his successors and then was turned into a fortress beyond the river Tevere (Tiber) by Aureliano (Aurelian) in 271. It was connected to the Vatican Palaces by means of the “passetto”, a covered corridor.

The name of the castle comes from an angel that, according to the legend, Pope Gregorio Magno(Gregory the Great)saw over the building while he was going on procession nearby during the plague in 590. A bronze statue representing the angel can now be seen on the top of the keep, while in ancient times there was a bronze quadriga driven by the Emperor.

The castle is of circular shape and the outside walls belonged to the original square basement, excepting the corner bastions. The cylindrical core is formed by blocks of travertine stone and peperino (a kind of tuff). Today the building is the seat of a national museum. Quiz: *What was a mausoleum? ** What was a quadriga?

ST.PETER’S BASILICA St.Peter’s Basilica represents the heart of Christianity and is the seat of Papacy, situated inside the Vatican City State, one of the smallest states in the world. The Vatican City State was established on the Italian territory on February 11 th 1929, thanks to the stipulation of the Lateran Pacts that recognized its independence.

The origins of the Basilica dates back to the age of Ancient Rome, as in the 4th century Emperor Costantino (Constantine) built the first great early Christian basilica just on the site where Saint Peter had died and so many persecutions of Christian martyrs had taken place.More than a thousand years later the original building was rebuilt.

The present basilica was started in 1506 by the architect Bramante and then was continued by Raffaello, Michelangelo and other important artists of Italian Renaissance. It has a latin cross-shaped plan; it is 186,36 m. long and is towered by a 119 m. high dome, which can be admired from almost every part of Rome.

Inside the church there is one of the many fascinating attractions for tourists: the Pietà, a statue by Michelangelo that represents Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Jesus Christ in her arms. QUIZ: *What was the original function of a basilica in pagan Rome? **Who was Michelangelo?

ST. PETER’S SQUARE