After a morning filled with dead things—from the obsolete Aurelian wall to the haunting pyramid of Gaius Cestius to the graves of non-Catholic foreigners—we ended our group trip at Testaccio, amidst the more residential neighborhoods and the site of ancient Rome's mountain of pottery. From there, the itinerary was open-ended: we could go back to St. John's to sleep, go shopping in Piazza Navona or the Campo de Fiori, maybe eat lunch in some cozy and secluded restaurant. I, with a group of numerous others, decided to make my way back to St. John's, but it was only for a brief recuperation period: I needed to trade jeans for shorts (because it was 80 degrees out and hot as Hades), bandage my blisters, and get rid of my backpack, since the pickpockets had been out in full force this morning, nearly stealing from two Romekids on the train. Then it was off to the Castel Sant'Angelo, which many of us had been itching to see for days but always missed the chance to go. We met up at the bus stop at quarter to 1, got quick and cheap sandwiches from Mondo Arancina, and then crammed into the 280 when it finally came.
The Castel, as I wasn't truly prepared for, was teeming with people. The bridge nearly buckled under so many tourists making their way through the heat and merchants shouting out their wares from both sidewalks. Statue people, dressed as Egyptian sarcophagi or metal cowboys, sat in front of their donation buckets, and to the far right the markets filled up the entire sidewalk with tents and shoppers. Thankfully, the line into the Castel was short enough, and we only had to stand beneath the blazing sun for five to ten minutes before we were all able to move in through the wide gateway toward the ticket booth. The walls rose at our backs, the towers casting shadows into the courtyard as we followed the marked lines toward the ticket booth and into the fortress itself, and everything was complete brick. Far from being bland, however, the inside was an impressive serious of arches and tunnels. It marked the mausoleum part of the structure, and as I climbed each steep ramp I found myself recognizing the many small side rooms that seem standard in ancient Roman architecture: like the Colosseum, Hadrian's mausoleum had many nooks built into either side of the walls, and there were multiple layers to the structure. It was shadowy, a sallow yellow lighting illuminating the walls (as windows were not very large in ancient buildings), and it was cool, refreshing and calming compared to the hectic commotion going on right outside the building.
When we reached the second courtyard, up a few floors but not yet near the top of the fortress, we milled around to admire the stature of the angel with copper wings, placed in the center the area, and the wooden catapult to the right of it, with plastic-looking cannonballs piled up against the wall. Placed together, these two sections expressed the turn of an era: ancient Rome, represented in the levels of Hadrian's mausoleum, has given way to the Christian empire and the medieval warfare that came with it. From here, mainly Christian influence would reign within the walls of what was once a Roman emperor's tomb—and that is made quite obvious once you enter the museum attached to this courtyard, where the paintings of saints, the Virgin Mary, and Christ line nearly every wall in every room. Pope attire has been encased in glass, crosses too, and only one amphora from Attic Greece is present. Ancient Rome is far less prevalent now, as the Castel leads higher and higher up.
To go to the next level, we walked out of the museum back into the courtyard, passing the copper-winged angel and taking stairs up to a beautiful corridor that circled the entire castle. Half of it was exposed to the air, so the sun shined in over the walls and cast shadows onto the brick floor, while the other half was covered to create a roof for a cafe (because whether this building was the tomb of deceased men or the site of Christian warfare, people need to refresh themselves). We passed small doors marked for the popes, most likely the papal apartments the brochures noted, and through the open windows on the left-side wall we were granted a breathtaking view of the Tiber and all the land that lay beyond it. If ever anyone has an undying urge to see the best view of Rome, the Castel Sant'Angelo is a great place to relieve that itch (so long as said person has 8.50 euro on hand).
There were more stairs to climb, and more museums to see, filled again with papal outfits and Christian imagery, followed again by more stairs passing another museum. Beyond that narrow and steep staircase, though, breaking out into the gleaming, painfully bright sunlight, rests the roof of the Castel Sant'Angelo, where the world of Rome stretches out toward the horizon, literally beneath your feet. It's difficult for me to choose my favorite spot in Rome, because the Palatine, the Ara Pacis, and the Colosseum are all incredible experiences that resonate with me for one reason or another: the gardens of the Palatine and the ancient palaces make me feel peaceful and show the side of Rome that isn't loud traffic or congested tourist areas; the Ara Pacis is an Augustan propagandist masterpiece, simple in size but elegant in its decoration; and the Colosseum is simply a must-see, for its view of Rome and its impressively preserved remains. As for the top of the Castel, for all that it hurts to keep your eyes open for two long, since the sun flashes off every bright surface and sears your eyes no matter what direction you turn, the climb turns into one of those this-is-it moments. The Castel Sant'Angelo, representing numerous eras of history and changes of empire, leads you up to a panoramic view of Rome that you just can't get anywhere else. The heat is scorching, the rare breeze is delightful as you lean against the railing, and up top you can experience the entirety of Rome's glory: counting the arches as they cluster together on the left, finding the Vittorio Emanuele (your Roman Waldo, since it's everywhere) in the distance, and seeing the Vatican as it stretches out on the right. The sky never seems so blue as it does from the roof of the Castel, the Tiber winding its way around the castle down below and Rome cradling the monument in a mosaic of multi-century buildings. The Castel Sant'Angelo really helps you gain a perspective in all ways.
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