Castel Sant’Angelo is a 2nd Century tomb where the ashes of the Roman emperors were kept.  Built by Emperor Hadrian, it also served as an impregnable fortress where popes would often hide for safety from feudal barons and holy Roman emperors.  There exists today part of a secret walkway which allowed popes to walk quickly to the castle without going to the street below.  Overlooking the Tiber, one can see most of Rome from the outdoor deck.  In the video below, you will see St. Peter’s Basilica off to the right and the monument to Victor Emmanuel in the distance on the left. I apologize for the sound; it was a windy day.

The castle was named for the Archangel Michael after the city was saved from the plague in 590 AD.  Michael was said to have appeared over the castle sheathing his sword during a procession to spare the city. 

The art and architecture here in Rome is spectacular and most of it is religious, i.e. found in churches. It has nothing to do with religion per se; it’s cultural. That’s why all these churches are mobbed with people of all faiths taking pictures.

Many of these churches are breathtaking and were designed or painted by people like Bernini, Michelangelo, Borromini, etc. from the 15th through 17th centuries. This is truly an “eternal city.” Lots of famous people are buried in these places.

So much history provides a sense of rooted-ness and perspective that a Westerner would find hard to duplicate anywhere else in the world. I crossed the Tiber yesterday that virtually all the Roman emperors crossed each day as well as popes. I walked across the bridge from which they threw the Christian martyrs into the Tiber. The bridge is still there today. I walked across it just as they did. (Unlike them, however, I made it to the other side!)

A Video of the The Pantheon: The Pantheon was built in the second century AD by Emperor Hadrian.  It is one of the world’s architectural masterpieces.  It contains a large hole (oculus) nine yards across at the top of its dome which has a 142-foot span, a span larger than that of St. Peter’s dome.  The oculus lets in sunlight which is the only source of light in the entire building.

But Rome isn’t for everyone. 

It’s dirty, and it’s difficult to walk the streets because they are narrow and full of people and cars that will not give you the right of way. It’s a chaotic, disorganized and often frustrating place, but that’s also what gives it its charm. We have a clothes drier in our apartment, but it takes forever to dry anything because the Italians don’t vent them to the outside. We have a broken door lock, but the “repairman” they sent over has no idea how to fix a lock. He had no tools and shrugged his shoulders and left. We still haven’t figured out how to get rid of trash after five days here. I don’t know what it is about Italians and trash, but they don’t seem to have a regular method of getting rid of it.

You have to acquire a different mindset while you’re here and enjoy these little episodes. It’s all part of Italy. There is so much beauty here—like the language and I especially love to hear the children speaking, who are so expressive—that it really isn’t much to put up with in return for simply being here.

A Video of the The Pantheon at night.