Pontifiduct

Over the summer the Castel Sant'Angelo was open during the evening on certain days, allowing for visits after dark.  I love when monuments are open late because you get to see things in a different light (haha, literally), and with significantly fewer crowds.

Although I had already been to the Castel a few times  I was super duper incredibly excited because these special visits also included an opening of the Passetto, the overground passage between the Vatican and the Castel that was built as an escape route for the popes and was famously used by Clement VII during the Sack of Rome in 1527.  What I fondly call the "pontifiduct" (for pontiff (pope) + acqueduct) is NEVER open, and so Jasmine, Nick, and myself jumped at the opportunity to do some exploring.

During normal visits there are guards  preventing photographs of Perino del Vaga's frescoes in the Sala Paolina.  Not so at night.

St. Michael in all of his Mannerist glory

View from the Sala

Paul III's bathroom.  I'm not joking.

 

More beautiful views

At the top of the Castel, with Michael

A view of Rome from Google Earth.  The red line shows the path of the Passetto from the Vatican on the left to the Castel on the right.

The Passetto!

Some lengths of the passage were covered

So amazing.  Although it seems relatively boring, walking along the pontifiduct quickly became one of my best memories in Rome.

End of the line and as far as we could go :(

With Nick and Jasmine (right) and their friends Graham and Francesca (left)

Walking back towards the Castel

Simply amazing