Postcard from Rome

This is the Tomb of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. It was built between the years 134-139 AD. The emperor’s ashes, along with those of his wife and son were entombed here in 139 AD. After that, the remains of other Roman emperors were buried here, the last being the Emperor Caracalla in 219.

In its day, it was quite beautiful. But much of the decorations and even the tomb contents were removed when the building was turned into a fortress in 401 AD. In 410, and later in 537, the structure was looted of most of its precious contents by the Visigoths and the Goths.

Later, the Catholic Church began its own looting, tearing down columns and other ornaments to build its chhurches.  So this structure is only a shell of what it once was. In the 16th century, the Pope of the time turned it into a castle. As you may have seen in the movie, “Angels and Demons,” there is a tunnel leading from the castle to St. Peters in the Vatican. Later, the castle became a Papal Prison.   

Today, the structure is known as Castel Sant'Angelo, aka: Castle of the Holy Angel. But I still prefer to think of it as Hadrian’s Tomb. I prefer it’s Roman History to that of the Catholic Church.

The bridge leading to the tomb crosses the Tiber River and has several statues of angels, as you can see in the photo. Atop the tomb is a large suspended statue of the archangel St. Michael.

I would have loved to seen the original tomb before it was raped and pillaged by barbarian hordes and the Catholic Church.