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| Album: By Country | By Date | Italy | February 2001 | < Prev Image | St. Peter's | Next Image > | ||||
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| Travelogue: By Country | By Date | Italy | February 2001 | |||||
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Castel S'Angelo. Ancient Rome allowed no tombs inside the city walls, so Hadrian built a giant tomb just outside the city along the Tiber. His mausoleum was a big cylinder topped by a cypress grove and a gold statue of Hadrian himself. From AD 139 to AD 217 emperors were buried here. In 590, Pope Gregory converted it to a fortified palace after seeing a vision of archangel Michael sheathing his sword (a plague had just ended). The Pope made it into a prison and palace. Cellini, the Florentine goldsmith and sculptor defended it and was imprisoned here. |
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