Castel Sant'Angelo with Context: An Audio Guide of Hadrian’s Mausoleum

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Rome audio tour: Castel Sant'Angelo with Context: An Audio Guide of Hadrian’s Mausoleum

This is an indoor tour

Rome

Italy

$9.99

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About the Tour

Castel St Angelo has had many uses during its 2,000-year-long history. It was first created as a mausoleum for Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family. Before becoming the popular museum it is today, popes used the impressive rotunda as a castle fortress.

On this 90-minute tour with historical archaeologist and Context Travel expert, Philip Ditchfield, you’ll explore this unique archaeological site. Castel Sant’Angelo’s 58 rooms are packed full of centuries-old paintings, sculptures, and military memorabilia. With Philip’s help, you’ll see the most important artefacts, as well as the ones most visitors miss.

The tour starts on Ponte Sant Angelo (St Angelo’s Bridge). From there, you’ll visit the Room of Urns where emperors found eternal rest, safeguarded from intruders by ingenious trap doors and ‘murder holes’. You’ll hear stories about the five popes and countless cardinals executed at the castle, view the Roman equivalent of Alcatraz, and ascend to the breathtaking Terrazzo dell’Angelo to enjoy a panoramic view of the city.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

Learn about Passetto di Borgo, the ingenious fortified escape corridor commissioned by Pope Nicholas III that links the Vatican to the citadel
Find out about the Papal Apartments, where popes sought refuge in times of turmoil
Immerse yourself in centuries of art, sculpture, and military history
Take in the breathtaking Sala Paolina, Paul III’s lavish reception room
Trace the transformation of the Mausoleum of Hadrian into a fortress in the 1400s
See the grotesque-style art that adorns the walls of the Room of Apollo and the Biblioteca di Castel Sant Angelo (the library)
Behold the Treasure Chamber, where the Pope’s treasure chests once resided
Take in panoramic views from the terrace, one of the best vantage points to view the city’s other Renaissance and Baroque buildings
Spot the Archangel Michael statue that was sculpted by Michelangelo’s apprentice, Raffaello da Montelupo, which once stood atop the castle

This tour offers a glimpse into life within a Renaissance palace. As you explore its hallowed halls and intricate chambers, you’ll be transported to a bygone era. By the end of this tour, you’ll have immersed yourself in the grandeur and heritage infused within the walls of this magnificent rotunda, dating back to 139 AD.

Join Philip as you navigate this historic wonder, guided by his expert insights, and unlock the mysteries of Rome’s most enduring monument.

Please Note: This tour doesn't include entry into Castel St Angelo. Buy your entry tickets online here.

Tour Producer

Context Travel

92 tours

Context was founded in Rome in 2003 by Paul Bennett and Lani Bevacqua an expat couple eager to curate experiences for travelers, not tourists. Since then Context has taken over 200,000 people to 60+ destinations around the world – accompanied by thousands of leading experts. What started as a dream to create cross-cultural connections is now a worldwide network and community of thoughtful, engaged travelers and experts.

Join a live private or small group tour in destinations around the world at contexttravel.com.

Preview Location

Location 14

Prison 2

One of the most famous figures to be incarcerated here was the flamboyant Florentine goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini, a man who indulged in satanic ceremonies in the Colosseum and who had a penchant for knifing his girlfriend’s lovers. Initially, he had entertained good relations ... One of the most famous figures to be incarcerated here was the flamboyant Florentine goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini, a man who indulged in satanic ceremonies in the Colosseum and who had a penchant for knifing his girlfriend’s lovers. Initially, he had entertained good relations with the pope. Indeed, during the sack of Rome in 1527, not only did he succeed in killing the leader of the attackers, he also took refuge with Clement VII and continued fighting from the battlements. However, under Paul III (Farnese) the rapport soured. Just ten years later, the sculptor would find himself imprisoned in the very castle he had defended, accused not only of embezzlement, but also sodomy. Such a frightful prison was no place for a swashbuckling alchemist, and so he tried to escape by tying his bed sheets together and climbing out of a window. Unfortunately, he fell, breaking his leg. His family eventually bailed him out and Cellini went on to write an astonishing autobiography, while also producing some great art. The statue of Perseus adorning Piazza della Signoria in Florence was one of his creations.

Another illustrious inmate was the Dominican friar Giordano Bruno, who fell foul of the inquisition for his views on the galaxy. A philosopher, poet, and cosmological theorist, he proposed that the stars were distant suns surrounded by their own planets and that these planets might foster life. Inspired by Capernicus, he claimed that it was not the sun that rotated around the earth, but the other way around. Bruno's pantheism enraged the Church, and so he was tried for heresy on charges of the denial of several core Catholic doctrines, including the divinity of Christ, the virginity of Mary and eternal damnation. After spending six long years in the castle, he was burned at the stake in 1600; his brooding statue in Campo dei Fiori now marks the spot.

Since executions were deemed educational, many were carried out beyond the castle walls. Before the event, churches put up posters inviting the faithful to pray for the condemned, who would be accompanied to the gallows by monks belonging to the Confraternity of San Giovanni Decollato (literally the beheaded St John). The executions attracted huge crowds. Even fathers would bring sons, so that they could slap them after the ceremony in order to remind them to remain law-abiding. In 1817, Byron was so struck by their ghastliness, that he wrote back home, citing masked priests, half-naked executioners, bandaged criminals, black Christs with banners, scaffolds, soldiery, slow processions, not to mention the rattle and fall of the axe. Charles Dickens too described the theatrical nature of the killing in his work “Pictures from Italy”.

Although the executioners wore masks to protect their identity, everybody knew who they were. In fact, Castel Sant'Angelo's longest-serving executioner, Giovanni Battista Bugatti, in service from 1796 to 1864, was renowned. During 68 years he executed over 500 men. Beheading was one of the preferred methods, but the arrival of Napoleon in 1810 led to the guillotine being introduced, an instrument the inhabitants sarcastically labeled a new monument! Bugatti referred to his victims as patients and, before killing them, he offered them snuff. For his own protection, he was not permitted to leave his neighborhood unless specifically called to conduct his morbid task. Bizarrely, when he was not carrying out his duties, he actually sold umbrellas to tourists.

Now, go back up the staircase you came down in order to enter the courtyard. At the top of these steps take a sharp left and carry on ascending another staircase until you reach the apartments of Paul III. Once you are inside, kindly start the next track. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Castel Sant'Angelo
Passetto di Borgo
Mausoleum of Hadrian
Papal Apartments
Room of Apollo
Biblioteca di Castel Sant' Angelo
Terrace of Castel Sant'Angelo
Sala Paolina
Ponte Sant'Angelo
St Angelo Bridge
Julius II's Loggia

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Getting There

Route Overview

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Start location
Lungotevere Castello, 50, 00193 Roma RM, Italy
Total distance

0m
Final location
Ponte Sant'Angelo, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Distance back to start location

30.08m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts in front of the National Museum of Castel St Angelo (Lungotevere, Castello, 50, 00193 Roma). Travelers can take the A subway line to the Lepanto station or the train to the Roma S. Pietro station to reach Castel St. Angelo.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Travelers can choose to enjoy a coffee or snack from the cafeteria on the terrace.

Best time of day

The National Museum of Castel St Angelo is open from 9 AM till 7:30 PM Tuesday through Sunday. The last entrance is at 6:30 PM. Please note that the Castle is closed on Mondays, December 25th and January 1st. An admission ticket is required to enter the venue.

Precautions

Entry tickets aren't included in this tour. An admission ticket is mandatory to visit Castel St. Angelo but tickets can be purchased on-site or online here.

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