From Google Public Domain
If you asked my son today, many years after our times in Roma with groups of students, he would tell you that the Castel was and is his favorite site. He has a picture or etching of this remarkable building in his house. The Romans were outstanding builders and you realize their talent when you visit building after building . Our house in Troy was about 100 years old and we thought that was old. The Castel was begun in 137AD and is still standing and functional. The building was originally built to be the earthly final resting place for Emperor Hadrian and his family. Later it became a fortress for the popes with direct secret passageway from St Peters to the Castile. Today it is a museum. Romans are good at adaptive reuse of her historical buildings! As much as Chris loved the castle and the fantasies he had of playing “little boy army” with his friends at home on this imposing site, I loved the Bernini angles which were added in the 17th century.
Bernini’s mark is large on Rome with his beautiful architecture and sculpture and work at St Peter’s. The professor says that Bernini was the first certifiable rock star and he lived in the 17 Century. He had a charming and outgoing personality and people would follow him where ever he went. These angles were one of his last projects that he designed with his son who finished the work.
Image from Wikipedia
“View over Rome from Castel Sant’Angelo”. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:View_over_Rome_from_Castel_Sant%27Angelo.jpg#/media/File:View_over_Rome_from_Castel_Sant%27Angelo.jpg
St Peter’s Dome in the distance and the passageway on the right that connects the two sites.
Oh what a lovely visit this morning to the Eternal City ! Did you know that the title started during ancient Rome? They Romans though that no matter how many empires came and went in the world , that Rome would lead and last forever!
I would love to hear about your experiences in Roma, dear friends!
TalesAlongTheWay 
It is a lovely place. We were there recently.The views are stunning
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And Scott’s lady, you have probably seen Hadrian’s wall, as well!
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Beautiful photos Anne. I’ve only been there virtually, when my brother and sis-in-love went on a cruise and took a side trip to Rome. I asked my bro to please send me some photos, and he sent about 4000 of them on three CD’s. It took me days and days to wade thru all of them and choose the ones I wanted to save, but it was worth every minute of time. They have also taken me to Ireland, on a Danube cruise, to Alaska, China, Australia, and so many other places I just don’t remember. I have been to Germany, and loved it, but was much younger then, and so happy to get back home.
We here in the US just don’t seem to have an appreciation for good, solid construction, like the kind they have in the old countries. I have lived in this building almost 13 years, considered to be the safest non-government building in the world by CDC and most emergency agencies. I have been a team leader in the past for some Search and Rescue squads, and learned a lot about this building, and decided I would live here when I reached the specified age requirement of 55. I was accepted as a tenant, and when I moved in this was a place to be proud of, well maintained, loved and taken care of. Then the manager retired, and the new one let everything get run down, because it was more than 30 years old, and she considered that outdated and not worth taking care of. The caring people left, the riff-raff slipped in the unguarded doors and slept in the stairwells at night, vandalizing everything, stealing things, and threatening people, all seemingly unstoppable, because the first to go was the security people.
This is becoming too long, but in a nutshell, we have no respect for anything older than one or two years, or made out of glass and concrete. So sad.
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Oh what a lovely comment Angie. I am so glad that you enjoy travelling with me. I am so glad to have your companionship. Your humor, intelligence and amazing spirits are an inspiration to me ! Peace.
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Thanks Anne. Just please keep taking me along to places I’ve never been except with you. I save most of your photos to add to my files, and when I want to change some pictures on my walls, I just print out some I have “lifted” from a blog I’ve read and have found a picture I love. Mostly I admit where I got them to my friends, but some are so obnoxious I just let them think I made the trip physically, rather than virtually. They probably wouldn’t know the difference anyway.
Sorry, I’m trying to not let any negative feelings slip thru, but even though I’ve been divorced for 20 years, finding out I’m now a widow is still a horrible shock.
Namaste!
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Oh Angie, I am so glad that you enjoy my posts. I feel so humbled that I have ;had this wonderful opportunity to travel . It makes me happy to share, and I hope it doesn’t come across as arrogant in anyway. I love the story about the pictures! You are precious. Of course you feel sad and shocked to hear that your former husband has died. All those feelings, and hopes and dreams come rushing back! I am sure you will have to grieve all over again!
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