The ancient and massive round ramp linking Hadrian’s tomb to a huge niche that once housed the emperor’s statue in Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, Italy. By the Middle Ages the tomb had gradually become a papal military stronghold and castle. May 28, 2017

This large niche in Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, Italy, use to house a colossal statue of emperor Hadrian who lived from 76-138 AD when it was his and his family’s mausoleum. May 28, 2017

A papal room in Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome, Italy, that was decorated to the pope’s liking while spending time at the castle/fortress for the pope’s protection. May 28, 2017

Archangel Michael the bronze statue at the top of Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, Italy. May 28, 2017

The view of Vatican City from atop Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, Italy. May 28, 2017

A view Rome from the roof of Castel Sant’Angelo, including the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (“National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II”) built to honor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. Unification took place in 1861. May 28, 2017

The Vatican wall that reaches to Castel Sant’Angelo was used by popes (through a passageway at the top) to escape danger at the Vatican during the Middle Ages in Rome, Italy. May 28, 2017

The papal altar and the baldacchino of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy. May 29, 2017

The 13th century mosaic floors that run down the center of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy, from the front door to the central nave. May 29, 2017

The 13th century mosaic floors that run down the center of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy, from the front door to the central nave. May 29, 2017

The 13th century mosaic floors that run down the center of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy, from the front door to the central nave. May 29, 2017

The Triton Fountain in the Piazza Barberini (1642), by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is a masterpiece of Baroque sculpture, representing Triton, half-man and half-fish, blowing his horn to calm the waters, following a text by the Roman poet Ovid in the Metamorphoses. May 29, 2017