Located on the right bank of the Tiber river, the monumental Castel Sant’Angelo (or Mausoleo di Adriano), is one of the monuments to visit absolutely in Rome. Steeped in history, this attraction located a few steps from the Vatican, also boasts the presence of an important museum , which became part of the Lazio Museum Complex in 2014 and directly managed by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage .
Timetables and prices
- Hours: Every day 09: 00-19: 30
- Best time to avoid queues : at opening and at lunchtime
- Closed : 1st January, 1st May and 25th December
- Ticket cost: full € 12.00 (price subject to changes in case of exhibitions and extraordinary events)
- Reductions : young people from the European Union aged between 18 and 25 pay € 2.00
- Free : under 18, disabled people with their companion, teachers and students of the Academies of Fine Arts
- Method of payment : directly on site, or online by paying a small surcharge.
- Contacts : +39 06 32810 – Call center active from Monday to Friday 9: 00-18: 00; Saturday 9: 00-13: 00. Call for guided tours bookings (recommended for groups of at least 15 people).
Evaluate the Roma Pass : If you plan to visit other attractions during your stay, consider purchasing the Roma Pass to get free admissions, special discounts and unlimited use of public transport. Paying around € 50.00 you are also entitled to the skip-the-line option which saves you a lot of time!
Online tickets and guided tours
What to see and how to visit Castel Sant’Angelo
The Castle offers a journey to discover the seven levels , which allows the visitor to retrace the history of Rome. It offers wonderful panoramic views, splendid frescoed rooms, and other curious elements of interesting historical value.
Here are some of them:
- The historical Prisons : underground rooms probably built at the behest of Alexander VI Borgia.
- Le Olearie : once used as food storage areas
- The courtyard of Leo X : also known as ‘il Forno’, it was the place where the fire was lit to heat the waters of the overhanging bath of Clement VII
- The little bath of Clement VII : ancient bathroom of the pontiff, full of curious frescoes characterized by sphinxes, dolphins and imaginative marine animals, but also heraldic symbols and mythological scenes connected to water.
- Il Passetto di Borgo : fortified passage about 800 meters long that connects the castle to the Vatican palaces, used in the past as an escape route for the popes.
- The National Museum : houses various exhibitions, most of which are accessible to the public. There are 4 areas, one dedicated to ceramics, one to sculptures, one to paintings, and the last to the Armory.
- level 7 is a large terrace on which the statue of San Michele rests and from which you can enjoy a beautiful view over the whole city.
As you can imagine, this castle is steeped in history, inside every corner deserves to be seen. But now let’s find out together which are the 10 works to see in Castel Sant’Angelo .
1 – Bust of the Emperor Hadrian
Photo by Sailko. This bust, datable around the middle of the 2nd century AD, depicts the emperor Hadrian, who wanted the construction of the Castel Sant’Angelo. The bust is located in the external cordonata of Paul II, precisely inside a niche at the end of a flight of stairs.
- Author : unknown
- Date : mid 2nd century
2 – Bell of Mercy
The Bell of Mercy is located at level 7, on the Terrace of the Angel. Also called the bell “of the condemned”, it was used to announce the executions that took place on the lower floor, in the Cortile delle Fucilazioni.
- Author : unknown
- Date : unknown
3 – Statue of Archangel Michael on the Terrace
Photo by Roma1314. The Archangel Michael is a bronze statue measuring 4.70 x 5.40 meters. The original is currently exhibited in the Sala della Rotonda. The one you will see at level 7, on the Terrace of the Angel, near the Bell of Mercy, is a copy made of stainless steel and titanium.
- Author : Peter Anton Verschaffelt
- Data: 1752
4 – Statue of Archangel Michael in the Cortile degli Angeli
This statue of the Archangel Michael also deserves to be seen during your visit. This is 3.30 meters high, is made of marble and copper and has been placed in the Cortile degli Angeli since 1910.
- Author : Raffaello da Montelupo
- Data: 1752
5 – Portrait of Prospero Farinacci
This picture is one of the few portraiture works painted by Giuseppe Cesari, known as the Cavalier d’Arpino. The subject of the painting is Prospero Farinacci, a famous jurist and lawyer, and he is represented seated at a table, with an open book, pointing to a blank sheet, on which there is the author’s signature.
- Author : Giuseppe Cesari
- Data: 1607
6 – Festino degli Dei – Copy by Giovanni Bellini
The author of this work is unfortunately unknown, but the picture is a copy of the one made by Giovanni Bellini painted around 1509 and now exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington . Another copy, also datable to the seventeenth century, is instead kept at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.
- Author : unknown
- Date : 17th century
7 – Cardinal Gozzadini receives Giacomo III Stuart
The setting of this painting is described by Crespi in “The vine of Bolongnese painters” (1769). The painting shows the moment in which Cardinal Gozzadini receives the King of England James III Stuart in Imola, passing by while he was on his way to visit the city of Rome.
- Author : Antonio Gionima
- Data: 1717/1719
8 – Young woman with unicorn
This oil painting on canvas shows a young woman sitting on the ground next to a unicorn. The girl looks towards us and with a finger points to her creature next to her, almost inviting us to observe him.
- Author : Luca Longhi
- Data: 1535/1540
9 – Lamentation over the dead Christ
These sculptures are made of carved, carved and painted wood. The scene represented is that of the moment in which the body of Christ is taken down from the cross and the people around him feel sorry for him. The author is unknown, although recent studies attribute the work to a workshop of Lombard / Piedmontese origin.
- Author : Lombard manufacture
- Date : mid-15th century
10 – Madonna and Child with Saints
This work is an oil on panel which was then transferred to canvas. The scene represented is that of the Madonna with the little Jesus in her arms, surrounded by Saints Peter, Paul, Bernardo and Stephen.
- Author : Luca Signorelli
- Data: 1515/1520
Where is it and how to get there
- On foot : about 700 meters from Piazza Navona (10 minutes) and less than 800 meters from St. Peter’s Square (12 minutes) – Get directions.
- By metro : Line A, Lepanto or Ottaviano stops (both about 15 minutes on foot).
- By bus : lines 62, 23, 271, 982, 280 (get off at Piazza Pia, then walk for 3 min), line 40 (get off at the terminus Piazza Pia, then walk for 3 min), line 34 (get off at via di Porta Castello, then on foot for 5 min), lines 49, 87, 926, 990 (get off at the Piazza Cavour terminus or at the Via Crescenzio stop, then on foot for 6-8 min), lines 64, 46 (get off at Santo Spirito, then walk for 5 min).
Useful tips for visiting the attraction
Sometimes it is possible to wait in line, waiting for your ticket and entrance to the attraction, even more than 20 minutes . If patience is not your forte you can follow our tips, or postpone the visit to less crowded days (usually, weekends can turn out to be real “bolge”, which is why it is preferable to reserve the visit to Castel Sant ‘ Angelo during the weekdays).
- Get up early : we recommend that you arrive at the museum at least half an hour before opening time and, if you want to save time, book your visit online
- Buy the city card : The Roma Pass gives you free access to the attraction, it also includes unlimited public transport and many other benefits
- Guided tours : the museum organizes guided tours of up to 15 people to the Olarie, the historic prisons and the little stove of Clement VII. These visits are included in the entrance ticket but reservations are required, even directly at the ticket office.
- Minimum time : it takes at least 3 hours to fully visit Castel Sant’Angelo
- Access for the disabled : The physical nature of Castel Sant’Angelo does not allow, unfortunately, the visit to people with motor disabilities. However, it is possible to reach the fifth level of the structure through the use of the reserved lift.
- Beware of restrictions : eating or drinking is not allowed in the exhibition halls and flash photography is not allowed.
Historical notes, curiosities and practical info: what to know in brief
It is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating attractions that the Eternal City can open to its tourists. The glimpse offered on Castel Sant’Angelo , built between 125 and 139 at the initial will of Hadrian (who wanted to have a mausoleum for himself following the model of the one built for Augustus), is breathtaking, as is the story that revolves around this attraction.
Conceived as a mausoleum , starting from 403 it loses this function, fully becoming a castellum and being included in the Aurelian walls at the behest of the western emperor Honorius . The connection of the building with the Church dates back to 1367, when the keys of the fortress are entrusted to the then Pope Urban V. At each variation of the Castle’s function, redevelopment works are made to coincide , so as to be always ready to support the new purpose.
Several curious historical events are linked to the famous “Passetto”, or the walkway that connects the castle to the Vatican.
This path had a strategic importance in times of difficulty for the Church. It was used by popes such as Alexander VI Borgia and Clement VII Medici to escape during invasions by enemy nations. Just Clement VII, in 1527, began to wear a long beard in order to camouflage his appearance and face a possible escape through the conduit. Curiously, all the popes after him wore the beard up to Paul V.
