5-23-24 (Day 6 - Part 3) - Castel Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant’Angelo was the third stop on 5-23 (Day 6). We had already gone through the Vatican Museum, St. Peter’s Square and St. Peter’s Basilica. It was a long day with a LOT of walking, but there was something about Castel Sant’Angelo that I really wanted to see.
History: The Castel was erected around approximately 123-139 AD. The original intent for the building was for the Roman emperor, Hadrian’s remains and to be used as a Tomb. Around 401 AD the building was used as a military fortress. In the 14th century, the building was converted again to a castle for Pope Clement VII to fend off the siege of Charles V Landsknechte during the Sack of Rome in 1527. It was a prison for a period and several executions were also performed in the small inner courtyard.
We enjoyed walking through the structure. Although on the lower areas there was some construction being done. Once you walked to the higher areas, there was a museum of sorts where you could see some art. There is a restaurant at the top of the structure where several people were sitting to enjoy some food and a break from walking.
The views from the top of the Castel were impressive! I also liked the green foliage that was strewn back and forth as a roof near the restaurant area. The only thing that irritated me was I almost got into an argument with one of the people who worked there who kept telling me to lower my camera and collapse the stick it was on. There was not that many people in the room with the artwork in it, so I am not sure why he was so adamant about that.
All in all, it was a nice end to a day where we had already seen so much. At the end of the day, we left to go get some food and retire to prepare for the next day, which would be the Collisseum and Palatine Hill.