Castel Sant'Angelo  

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The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Rome, initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. It is also known for its "Corridor of the Grotesque".

Popular culture

The Castel Sant'Angelo appeared in Dan Brown's 2000 novel Angels and Demons. The location was the secret lair for the Hassassin and is the last existing church of the Illuminati.

The castle appeared in the film Roman Holiday in a scene taking place on barges on the river below.

In Eric Flint's alternative history novel 1635: The Cannon Law, the castle is the scene of intense fighting, and is largely destroyed.

In Puccini's opera, Tosca, the Castel is where the quarter's of Scarpia are, and where Cavadarossi is held prisoner, tortured and executed. At the end of the Opera, Tosca leaps to her death from it's battlements.

Scarpia's quarters and the place of torture is actually in the Palazzo Farnese. After murdering Scarpia in his private room at the Palazzo, Floria Tosca goes to the Castel Sant' Angelo, safe conducts in hand, where her lover, Mario Cavaradossi is to be executed. She has been led to believe it will be a mock execution and is horrified to find her lover dead. Rather than be arrested by Scarpia's henchmen, she throws herself from the rooftop.




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Castel Sant'Angelo" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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