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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

A Grand View from Castel sant'Angelo Rome seen from Castel Sant'Angelo

Many cities around the globe have placed statues of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary or of famous saints on a tall building or on a hill so that they can "protect" their inhabitants. Pope Pius IX had in mind to build a statue portraying St. Peter on the Janiculum, but at its place the Italian Government erected a monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was a fervent atheist.

Top of Castel Sant'Angelo
Upper part of Castel Sant'Angelo

Although in Rome there is no lack of statues positioned at the top of churches, that of the angel at Castel Sant'Angelo is best placed to be regarded as a visible symbol of Rome's Christian beliefs.

The angel
The Angel and detail of the sword

Rome has a mild climate, yet strong winds can blow from time to time; for this reason the Renaissance marble statue of the angel had metal wings and the Baroque one which replaced it was made up of many bronze interlocking pieces and inside it was strengthened by iron bars.

The view southwards
The view southwards (in the morning)

The terrace immediately below the statue offers fine views in three directions (east, south and west); however that southwards is impaired by the sun, unless one goes there in the early morning or in the late afternoon.

The view towards Campidoglio
The view towards Campidoglio (in the morning)

The terrace of Castel Sant'Angelo is not as high as other panoramic points of Rome (see list at the end of the page) yet it is located at the centre of Papal Rome and it allows close range views of its many domes.

The view is divided into two sections:
a) (morning) view westwards from S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini to la Farnesina (9581x790 image - 1.2MB)

View westwards
View westwards

b) (afternoon) view eastwards from S. Maria del Popolo to Oratorio dei Filippini (15,668x830 image - 2.5MB).

View eastwards
View eastwards

Both images are accompanied by a second one which highlights the main monuments and has links to pages showing them.

The view linking the two main views
The view linking the two sections: (blue dot) Oratorio dei Filippini - (red dot) S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini

Other pages of this section:
A New Grand View of Rome
Grand View of Rome from Giardino degli Aranci
Grand View of Rome from Villa Lante
Roman Terraces
The Domes of Rome
The Bell Towers of Rome
The Loggias of Rome
The Little Madonnas of Rome
The Pines of Rome
Golden Mosaics in Rome
The Talking Statues of Rome
A Roman Bestiary (the animals of Rome)