Begun around 133AD.,
Hadrian's mausoleum was completed by Antonio Pio in 139
d.C. and used as the imperial tomb. The dedication of
the building is due to the miraculous appearance of the
Archangel Michael, in 590 - and with it the Pons JElius,
the present day Sant'Angelo Bridge - becoming an
integral part of the Aurelian defensive system.
From on high, the 18th century work by Verschaffelt
recalls the first statue erected after the plague of
1348. Converted into a prison it was the theatre for the
escape by Benvenuto Cellini and the disturbing presence
of Cagliostro. During the Sack of Roma, Clement VII
succeeded in escaping the siege through the "Passetto"
which still joins it today to the Vatican. It was given
up by the pontifical troops in 1870 and was restored at
the beginning of the 1900s to house, from 1927, a rich
collection of antique arms and a picture gallery..
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The elegant marble aedicule on
the southern side of the Main Courtyard was planned by
Michelangelo between 1514 and 1516 as a view of the "new
chapel" of Saints Cosma and Oamiana erected by Leo X, whose
emblem can be seen in the centre of the rosette. It was
later modified by Raffaello da Montelupo. After the
restoration in 1987, the original plan by Michelangelo was
restored, with the exception of the seat which was added at
the beginning of the century on the basis of designs then
held to be authentic |
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