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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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HISTORIC ROME (CONT.), ITALY5) Piazza della Minerva Outside of the church is the small Piazza della Minerva - noted by another Bernini statue, Pulcino della Minerva. The statue is of an elephant as the supporting base for another Egyptian obelisk (imagine that!). Our tour guide pointed out that the backside of the elephant with his tail moved to the left was pointing to the Dominican monastery. They say that Bernini did this purposefully because he was mad at the alterations to his original design. So now when the monks leave the monastery, the first thing they see is an elephants behind. 6) Piazza Navona
In the book, Langdon and Vetra find Cardinal Baggia drowning in the fountain (Water). Langdon tries to save him but can't. They look to the top of the obelisk at the d ove was facing west and find that it is pointing towards the Illuminati Lair - Castel Sant' Angelo. 7) Castel Sant’Angelo and “il Passetto”
In the book, Langdon races to save Vetra from the Assassin (he kidnapped her and took her to the castle). They end up fighting and the Assassin dies by being pushed off the balcony onto the concrete in front of the castle entrance. Langdon and Vetra, then race to the Vatican using the 'il Passetto (an above-ground passage from the castle to the Vatican). Our tour ended at the top of the the Castel Sant'Angelo. We stayed for a bit to enjoy the view over Rome and Vatican City. I would definitely recommend the tour if you are short on time - though it would be easy to bring your book and find the locations on your own.
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Google map satellite pic of Piazza Navona Google map satellite pic of St. Peter's Square and Castel Sant'Angelo
In the 16th Century, the Ponte Sant'Angelo was used to expose the bodies of the executed. The 'il Passetto, also known as the Borgo Corridor, is a long and winding passage that connects the Vatican to Castel Sant'Angelo. It was conceived by Pope Boniface IX and restored by John XXIII who wanted a safe passageway for the popes. During the sack of Rome in 1527, it was used by many of the curia and even pope Clement VII, who managed to save themselves by heading to Castel Sant'Angelo. It isn't an underground passage, but is actually above ground in what looks like a wall from the castle to the vatican. |
To get back to the events in the book, we walked to the Piazza Navona. Here is Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers. Unfortunately, the fountain was under heavy renovation and surrounded by alot of fencing so I didn't take pics (the pic above is of the other fountain in Piazza Navona). The fountain means to depict allegories for the four great rivers in the four continents recognized by the Renaissance geographers: the Nile in Africa, Ganges in Asia, Danube in Europe, and Río de la Plata in America. Of course, in the middle of the fountain was an obelisk (the only non-Egyptian one we saw on the tour) with a dove atop.
The last stop on our Angels and Demons tour was the Castel Sant'Angelo, also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian. The building spent over a thousand years as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. We walked across the Ponte Sant'Angelo (pedestrian bridge leading to the castle). On the bridge were street vendors selling primarily designer bag knock offs. The tour included the entrance fee, so we waited until our guide got our tickets and climbed the stairs to the museum.
At the top of the castle, looking over the panoramic terrace, is a statue of an angel, built by the 18th century Flemish sculptor Pieter Verschaffelt. The bronze statue replaced the earlier, marble version. The statue depicts the angel who, according to legend, appeared on top of the fortress in the year 590 and miraculously ended the severe plague that had infested the city of Rome. After that event, the building was renamed Castel Sant'Angelo.
