Originally built as the funeral monument of the emperors with the name of Mole Adriana, was in communication with the Campus Martius through a bridge which still exists as Ponte Sant'Angelo.
In AD 403 emperor Honorius incorporated the building in an outpost bastion of the Aurelian walls. In 537, when it was already a fortress, it was attacked by the Goths. In the 10th century it was transformed into a castle. Today it is a massive fortress on a square base, with circular towers at the four corners (known as the towers of St. Matthew, St. John, St. Mark, and St. Luke), the result of works ordered by Popes Benedict IX, Alexander VI and Julius II.
Today Castel Sant'Angelo is a massive fortress on a square base, with circular towers at the four corners (known as the towers of St. Matthew, St. John, St. Mark, and St. Luke), the result of works ordered by Popes Benedict IX, Alexander VI and Julius II.
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