View of Rome from Castel Sant'Angelo, Italy

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Rome, Italy

On a visit to the Eternal City, travelers often pause to dmire the beauty of Rome from Hadrian's mausoleum, better known as Castel Sant'Angelo. The latter is a monument that the present city inherited from imperial Rome, when Hadrian had it built as a sepulcher for himself and his descendants. Many other emperors were buried there, up to Caracalla in 217 AD.

From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, the building served as a fortress to defend Rome, protecting the Vatican from the Visigoths and Vandals. It later passed into the hands of the Crescenzis, then the Pierleonis and subsequently the Orsinis. Around 1365, the structure became the property of the Church, which lost it after the unification of Italy, and the building was converted into a museum. Even today, the majesty of the building attracts millions of visitors from all over the world, remaining one of the most visited museums in the capital.