Curious And Unusual - the Passetto

	~ Curious And Unusual ~ - 5 - the Passetto

Approaching St.Peter's Square from the north, i.e. from its right side, passing by Sant'Anna Gate, just before the boundary between the Italian state and the Vatican one it is impossible not to notice a long wall, about 25-30 feet tall, which runs parallel to the colonnade. It looks like a fortification, similar to the ones built in ancient times around most cities, to protect their boundaries. But nobody would imagine that this one conceils a walkable gallery that runs through the wall, leading to Sant'Angelo Castle, on the western bank of the river Tiber, about 350 metres (or yards) off the Vatican. Romans call this wall Passetto ("small passage"), also known in old times as Corridore di Borgo ("Borgo district's corridor").	the Passetto

Approaching St.Peter's Square from the north, i.e. from its right side, passing by Sant'Anna Gate, just before the boundary between the Italian state and the Vatican one it is impossible not to notice a long wall, about 25-30 feet tall, which runs parallel to the colonnade. It looks like a fortification, similar to the ones built in ancient times around most cities, to protect their boundaries. But nobody would imagine that this one conceils a walkable gallery that runs through the wall, leading to Sant'Angelo Castle, on the western bank of the river Tiber, about 350 metres (or yards) off the Vatican.
Romans call this wall Passetto ("small passage"), also known in old times as Corridore di Borgo ("Borgo district's corridor").

the Passetto

the Passetto (between the arrows) runs from the Vatican (left) to the Castle (right)	The origin of the Passetto's wall dates back to the second half of the 6th century: Totila, the king of the Ostrogoths who had conquered great part of the Italian peninsula, had taken Rome in 576. Having to leave the city, in order to follow his campaign, he ordered the making of a low wall by the tomb of Hadrian, which linked to the city walls built by Aurelian 300 years earlier (see the relevant pages for details) and turned the aforesaid tomb into a fortress. It was probably poorly built, as the wall soon crumbled down; today, only a few stone blocks of this primitive structure still survive.

the Passetto (between the arrows) runs from the Vatican (left) to the Castle (right)

The origin of the Passetto's wall dates back to the second half of the 6th century: Totila, the king of the Ostrogoths who had conquered great part of the Italian peninsula, had taken Rome in 576. Having to leave the city, in order to follow his campaign, he ordered the making of a low wall by the tomb of Hadrian, which linked to the city walls built by Aurelian 300 years earlier (see the relevant pages for details) and turned the aforesaid tomb into a fortress. It was probably poorly built, as the wall soon crumbled down; today, only a few stone blocks of this primitive structure still survive.

In 800, pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, king of the Franks, as the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire: since Rome was considered the religious capital of the empire, the emperor decreed the making of a new wall, in order to defend St.Peter's tomb. Also this one did not last long: in fact, as soon as Leo III died (816), the same people of Rome, fearing that the castle might turn into a new centre of power held by the pope and the emperor, thus endangering the city's autonomy, during a riot took down the wall.

However, only 30 years later Rome was raided by the Saracens: the ancient set of walls built by emperor Aurelian proved effective in protecting the city, but the Vatican, left unprotected, was easily reached, and the tresury of St.Peter's basilica was sacked by the invaders, who also profaned the apostle's tomb and damaged the church.
In order to avoid further risks, around 850, pope Leo IV, likely urged by Lothair I (Charlemagne's grand-son and holy roman emperor by the time of the facts), had a defensive wall built all around the basilica and its grounds, starting from the fortress (i.e. the tomb of Hadrian): the present Passetto was only the first stretch of its whole length, which measured about 3 Km (1.3 miles), and had 44 towers.

▬ wall built by Totila (6th century)

▬ wall built by Leo IV (9th century)

coat of arms of Alexander VI

Unfortunately, the precise direction of these walls can no longer be traced, except for the parts still standing. The name of the architect in charge for the works, Agatho, is mentioned by an inscription found on the same wall.

The importance of a connection between the Vatican and the Castle became crucial when the popes, after their self-exile in Avignon (France), came back to Rome in 1377 and chose their new residence by St.Peter's basilica.

It was pope Nicholas III (1277-80) who had the first walkway created above the wall: for the first time, the Passetto started acting also as a passage.

the Passetto at its Vatican end; the columns of
St.Peter's square (lower left corner) are very close

About two centuries later (c.1492), pope Alexander VI sponsored further alterations: an upper footway was built above the extant one, which was therefore turned into a gallery. Also the crenellation that runs along the upper part of the wall was added at this stage. The coat of arms of Alexander VI can be seen twice along the inner side of the wall, above Porta Viridaria (i.e. at the Vatican end, see The Popes' Walls, part I page 2) and above a surviving tower located midway along its length.

the irregular texture testifies the many times the wall was rebuilt	The conceiled passage proved useful in particular to pope Clement VII, who in 1527 used it to escape from his apartments in the Vatican to the much safer castle, during the siege set by the Lansquenets, the mercenaries sent by emperor Charles V, who literally vandalized the city for about one year; the sack of Rome was a retaliation, for having the pontiff broken his word to form an alliance against the French king Francis I.	a view of the gallery

		(↑ above) the coat of arms of Pius IV marks the passages he opened; (← left) the Passetto cuts through Borgo district towards the Vatican	When pope Pius IV (1559-65) enlarged the city boundaries on the Vatican's side by building a second wall almost parallel to the Passetto, about 100 metres (or yards) further north, the old structure was left standing, but it lost its original defensive function. By running across the whole length of Borgo, the old wall now divided the district into two parts: the original nucleus, renamed Borgo Vecchio (Old Borgo), and Borgo Nuovo (New Borgo) between the Passetto and the new wall. Several passages were opened through the former, in order to allow the communication between the two parts of the district, thanks to the network of lanes that cross it; each archway above the passages is decorated with the pope's own coat of arms, the six spheres of the Medici family (left).

Around 1630, pope Urban VIII had the upper footway covered with a roof, thus turning it into a second gallery.

	the Passetto in a picture taken in 1855: the upper footway was still covered by a roof (yellow arrows), removed about one century later		Only in 1949 the roof was removed, to retrieve the original shape of the passage. at its eastern end, the Passetto reaches the Castle crossing the moat

In 1906 the castle was turned into a museum, but for many years the gallery running through the Passetto stayed closed to the public, as most of its parts had become unsteady and insecure.
Finally, among many restoration workshops set up throughout the city on the occasion of the Jubilee Year, in 2000, also the Passetto was cleaned and consolidated, and a partial reopening of its gallery to the castle's visitors was scheduled, although today only small groups are let in, for security reasons, and visits must be booked in advance.

	ER PASSETTO DE CASTEL SANT'ANGIOLO Lo vòi sapé ch'edè quer corritore Che, cuperto qua e là da un tettarello, Da San Pietro va giù ssin a Castello Dove tira a le vorte aria mijore? Mo tte lo dico in du' battute: quello Lo tiè pper uso suo Nostro Siggnore, Si mai per quarche ppicca o bell'umore Je criccassi de fà a nisconnarello. Drent'a Castello pò giucà a bon gioco Er Zanto-padre, si je fanno spalla Uno pe pparte er cantiggnere e er coco. E sotto la banniera bianca e gialla Pò dà commidamente da quer loco Binedizzione e cannonate a ppalla.	THE PASSETTO OF SANT'ANGELO CASTLE Would you like to know what's that corridor, Covered here and there by a small roof, That runs from St.Peter's to the Castle, Where sometimes the air is fresher? 1 I'll tell you in short: Our Lord 2 keeps it for his personal use, In the case one of his whims Makes him feel like playing hide and seek. 3 Inside the Castle, the Holy Father Can play an easy game, supported on either side By the wine-cellar keeper and the cook. And below the white and yellow flag, 4 From that site he can easily deliver Blessings as well as cannon-shots. Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, December 17th 1845
		1. - With the ironic meaning of "where the situation is safer". 2. - The pope. 3. - Being sought by enemies. 4. - The Vatican's own, that flew above the castle.

more pictures and information about the wall and Borgo district
can be found in the section about the popes' walls