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Castel Sant'AngeloCaste Sant'Angelo was realized between 1937 and 1950 by two famous architects of the time - Piacentini and Spaccarelli – who decided to demolish all the surrounding medieval area in order to gain more space to build the huge new street. The building dates back to the II century AC and was realized to be the monumental grave of emperor Adriano, who was famous for being keen on philosophy and art. Castel Sant'Angelo ment to be a huge building testimony of the great Roma and all its empire, gathering all the heritage of the ancient and sumptuous oriental kingdoms. In 403 was built a boundary wall and Castel Sant'Angelo turned into a fortress, so powerful to face the Visigoth assault. Throughout his long life, Castel Sant'Angelo had different roles, becoming from a fortress into a mausoleum, and from a scary prison to an elegant papal residence, always being a great testimony of the history of Roma. During the Middle Ages this building occupied a crucial strategic position, because of its location just in between the Roman Vatican Church and the old Roma: it was a kind of link between the two connected words, the Vatican raised up surrounding St Peter's grave and the ancient Roma, there since ever. There is a legend that gives the name "Angelo" to the building: the tales is about an Angel – St Angelo - appearing to Pope Gregorio Magno announcing the end of the pestilence in 590 and this event is remembered by the big bronze statue on the top of the building. Castel Sant'Angelo became a symbol of the Vatican power, the popes decided to enforce its military function and renewing its intern rooms and apartments, making it all very elegant and princely. Walking on this street you can admire 28 obelisks before ending up in Trastevere – the river Tiber walk – and just a few meters far from Castel Sant'Angelo, where you can easily walk passing the nearby Sant'Angelo bridge.Starting from Piazza San Pietro, it begins a marvellous walk trough via della Conciliazione towards Ponte Sant'Angelo: this is an unique chance to discover Roma and its bright narrow streets, full of shops, people, artists and everything else. If you carry on via della Conciliazione – the main street in this area – you will find out plenty of book, souvenir and holy art shops; this street represents a link between Piazza San Pietro and the rest of the city of Roma. Nowadays Castel Sant'Angelo homes the National Museum which holds an interesting collection of ancient arm and an unique set of paints, frescoes and pottery that decorates the papal apartments; from its terrace you can enjoy one of the most astonishing views of Roma.
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