Castel Sant’ Angelo

By the time we left St. Peter’s square we were hungry and in the need of some water. Near the entrance of the square there were several street vendors where you could buy food – they had been closed when we came in, which disappointed us since we had wanted to buy some water. Not knowing what regulations Italy has on its food vendors or how reputable they were, we decided against getting lunch there and went to a little café/store just outside St. Peter’s square. Again we just ordered from the counter to avoid the charge for sitting. We both got panini’s, I got a prosciutto and provolone one and it was really good. I also grabbed a bottle of water and Shannon picked up a t-shirt. From the café we headed over to the Castel Sant'Angelo.

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Rome, initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family between 135 AD and 139 AD. The building was later used as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.

Unfortunately the museum is closed on Monday’s so we were not able to go in. But we did walk around it a bit, and even took cover from a sudden rain shower.

Here we are approaching the Castel Sant’ Angelo A close up of the upper level The Castle is set on the banks of the Tiber River. Here is the walkway between the Tiber and the Castle. From the Castel Sant’ Angelo we headed to the Piazza Novano and the Pantheon. To get there we needed to cross the Tiber River. Here is the river.

As we crossed the river and walked on the path on it’s bank, I was struck by how small the river was. I remember learning about ancient Rome and all the Roman mythology that includes references to the river and I imagined it to be this massive river. It is not, in fact it is smaller than the Grand River in my home town. Again it was one of those cases where my perception of something did not match the reality.

From the river we made our way in the drizzle toward our next stop, the Pantheon.