Castel Sant’ Angelo in Rome was originally constructed between 135-139 AD as a mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian. It took the form of a Greek temple atop a cubic base and had decorative friezes and statues. Though Hadrian died before its completion, it served as the tomb for him and later emperors. Over centuries it took on new functions as a fortress, papal residence, and prison due to its strategic location near the Vatican. It remains an important landmark in Rome today.

1. Castel Sant’ Angelo/Hadrian’s Mausoleum
The Castel Sant’ Angelo in Rome, Italy, was founded and designed by the roman
emperor, Hadrian. The construction began in 135AD and took four years to complete.
Unfortunately, Hadrian did not get to see his completed mausoleum as he died one year before
the completion.
Hadrian wanted to produce a Greek style based temple while using tall Roman orders.
The finished temple must have been similar in scale and overall effect to the Olympienon at
Athens (Greece) which Hadrian also built. The details of the temple are important and
interesting because the style of the ornament and the fact that Proconnesian marbles were used
suggests that an Asiatic architect was also involved in this building. The entablature does not
survive in its entirety, although Canina reconstructed it from fragments that he says still survived
in his day. His drawings show a two-stepped architrave capped by an astragal, ovolo and
cavetto. A plain frieze with consoles supports a cornice with corona and sima separated by an
ovolo. The sima has an arrangement of plamettes and lions’ heads. The marble entablature of
the square base has details which are the hallmark of Pergamene architects. The solidity of its
construction is attested by the fact that it served as the chief place of refuge for the medieval
popes.
The Mausoleum became the resting place for Emperor Hadrian’s remains, as well as
many other of his successors. The last to be buried was Emperor Caracalla in 217AD
(Sobocinski, 2005, p.57).However, as one can see today, the Castel Sant'Angelo neither
consists of only a cylindrical body, nor does it have a chariot statue at the top, the fact that the
building has served several purpose throughout its history, which led to several expansions of
the building. The changes firstly occurred, during the decline of the Roman Empire, when the
mausoleum was turned into a fortress. In the early 5th
century, the fortress could not stop the
barbaric invasions of Rome.Up until the Middle Ages, Castel Sant’Angelo was owned by various
Roman families until the Papal state acquired the fortress in 1377.Castel Sant’Angelo which is
strategically located at the northern entrance to Rome, close to the Vatican City and the Tiber
River, made the Vatican see the great potential in the fortress. It didn’t take long for Pope
Nicolas the 3rd to convert it into a proper castle, connecting the castle to St Peter’s Basilica with
an elevated passage, located at the west side, known as Passetto di Borgo(“Castel Sant’Angelo
, Rome” , n.d.).

2. The fortified passage is located on top of the wall-like structure leading to Vatican
Citywhich allow quick and secure passage between the two buildings, in case of an
emergency.Besides using this structure as a castle, the Papal state also used it as a prison
where many noted Italians have been arrested. In the small inner square, several executions
took place and the mutilated bodies were displayed on the bridge in front of the castle.In the
fourth century A.D., Castel Sant’ Angelo was transformed into a fort and later during the Middle
Ages, it became the cornerstone of the Vatican’s defense system as well as the prison. Later
changes happened until the castle assumed its present name during the Renaissance when the
original ornamentation and marble were removed (Gabucci ,2002 , p. 57).
The mausoleum was composed of a cubic base 12m high, with a decorative frieze with
heads of cattle and corner pilasters. At the corners of the base there rose up groups of bronze
statues of men and horses. In the frieze overlooking the river you could read the names of the
emperors buried inside. On this particular side was the arched entry titled Hadrian, the access
corridor was entirely covered with antique yellow marble. Above the base cube lay a drum of
granite, travertine and concrete covered with fluted pilasters. Above a second drum topped with
a mound of earth lined with cypress trees and surrounded by marble statues of which only a few
fragments remain. The base was measured at about 85m to the side, while the drum had a
diameter of 64m. The height of the statue was 21m. The chamber square inside, is entirely
covered with polychrome marble and is below other rooms, perhaps the sepulchral cells, until
the last, which was the base for the statue that dominated the entire building. The exterior of the
cylindrical drum was surrounded by marble columns (“Mausoleum of Hadrian – CASTEL S.
ANGELO”, n.d.).