Did you know that the popes constructed a palace on top of a mausoleum built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian? Before he died, Hadrian commissioned a magnificent tomb for himself on the right bank of the Tiber River, just north of the ancient walls of Rome. Over the centuries, that tomb would become a fortress known as the Castel Sant’Angelo, then a papal residence, and finally a museum. In this episode, Emily and Cam cover the history of the monument and describe what it’s like to explore it today.

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The cover image is our own photo of the Castel Sant’Angelo!

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00:11 - Introduction: What is the Castel Sant’Angelo?

  • 04:51 - When and where was Hadrian’s Mausoleum built?
  • 05:05 - A brief history of Hadrian’s Mausoleum
  • 06:00 - The Mausoleum of Augustus: Hadrian’s inspiration
  • 08:44 - How was Hadrian’s Mausoleum different from that of Augustus?
  • 10:08 - The location of Hadrian’s Mausoleum and the Pons Aelius across the Tiber


11:47 - What did Hadrian’s Mausoleum look like? We attempt a verbal reconstruction.

  • 12:08 - The outer fence and Hadrian’s peacock statues
  • 12:32 - The square “basement”
  • 14:04 - The main drum
  • 15:02 - The superstructure, the hanging garden, and the statue of Hadrian


16:35 - When did Hadrian’s Mausoleum become a fortress?

  • 17:15 - From Tomb to Castellum: Honorius joins the Mausoleum to the Aurelian Walls
  • 17:39 - Justinian’s forces repel the Ostrogoths from Hadrian’s Mausoleum
  • 19:30 - The monument gets a new name: Gregory the Great, the plague of 590 and the intercession of Archangel Michael, and the Castel Sant’Angelo
  • 20:29 - The Church of St. Michael and a digression on the Castel’s statues


22:43 - When did the Castel Sant’Angelo become a papal residence?

  • 23:43 - From Theophylact to the House of Orosini: the Castel as the stronghold of powerful families connected to the papacy
  • 26:23 - A digression on the Passetto di Borgo, the protected walkway of the popes
  • The evolution of the Castel from the 14th to 16th centuries: new fortifications, and fancy new apartments
  • 27:22 - A digression on the curious escape of Benvenuto Cellini
  • 28:27 - The Castel Sant’Angelo in the 17th and 18th centuries (and Bernini’s new design for the Ponte Sant’Angelo)


33:41 - When did the Castel become a museum?

  • 33:49 - Italy takes control of the Castel Sant’Angelo after unification
  • 34:10 - Mariano Borgatti makes a museum


35:21 - What is it like to visit Hadrian’s Mausoleum and the Castel Sant’Angelo?

  • 35:55 - The approach: the bridge and the curtain wall
  • 36:47 - The lower courtyard
  • 37:57 - The remains of Hadrian’s Mausoleum: the dromos, the helical ramp, and the Hall of Urns
  • 44:32 - The Angel’s Courtyard and the papal apartments on the lower level (featuring the Apollo room and the aedicula of Leo X designed by Michelangelo)
  • 49:28 - The perimeter walkway, Alexander’s Courtyard, and the rooms of the second level (featuring the rooms of Paul III, née Alessandro Farnese)
  • 56:12 - The apartments of the third level (the library, the cagliostra, the Halls of Adrianeo and the Festoons, the Treasure Room)
  • 59:33 - The rotunda and the rooms of the fourth level
  • 60:00 - The Angel’s Terrace and the return to earth


63:22 - Final impressions of the visit65:48 - Wrap-up and next episode (on Centurion and The Eagle!)

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Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör Emily Jusino, PhD (Classics) and Cam Hawkins, PhD (Ancient History). Innehållet i podden är skapat av Emily Jusino, PhD (Classics) and Cam Hawkins, PhD (Ancient History) och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.