THE POPES' WALLS - part II

From the end of the Passetto, opposite St.Peter's Square, springs via di Porta Angelica. In earlier times this road ran towards Porta Angelica, one of the only two gates of Pius IV's wall; the name "Angelica" remembered the pope, whose name was Angelo Medici.

	On the left side of this street you'll clearly see how a wall marks the official boundary between Italy and the Vatican State. Before 1929, the two territories were not separated; only following the Concordat known as "the Conciliation", signed by Pius XI and Mussolini, a new boundary was drawn, and a wall was built to physically separate the two countries. The gate you'll soon pass by is Porta Sant'Anna, [map ref. b], the only standard access to the small state for non-Vatican citizens (a permit or visa is required). This gate, as well as any other approach to the Vatican, is constantly looked over by the Swiss Guards. As you stand in front of Porta Sant'Anna, looking behind the guards' placement you'll easily see the side of a stout round tower [map ref. c]. This is one of the towers added by pope Nicholas V in the mid 1400s along the pre-existing wall built by Leo IV (now replaced by buildings). view of the Vatican walls (map dated 1590, pointing eastwards): in the top right corner (arrow) is Porta Angelica, Porta Pertusa is in the opposite corner; highlighted in yellow are the early walls built by Leo IV, and the round towers added by Nicholas V

On the left side of this street you'll clearly see how a wall marks the official boundary between Italy and the Vatican State. Before 1929, the two territories were not separated; only following the Concordat known as "the Conciliation", signed by Pius XI and Mussolini, a new boundary was drawn, and a wall was built to physically separate the two countries.
The gate you'll soon pass by is Porta Sant'Anna, [map ref. b], the only standard access to the small state for non-Vatican citizens (a permit or visa is required). This gate, as well as any other approach to the Vatican, is constantly looked over by the Swiss Guards.
As you stand in front of Porta Sant'Anna, looking behind the guards' placement you'll easily see the side of a stout round tower [map ref. c]. This is one of the towers added by pope Nicholas V in the mid 1400s along the pre-existing wall built by Leo IV (now replaced by buildings).

view of the Vatican walls (map dated 1590, pointing eastwards):
in the top right corner (arrow) is Porta Angelica, Porta Pertusa is in
the opposite corner; highlighted in yellow are the early walls built
by Leo IV, and the round towers added by Nicholas V

At the end of via di Porta Angelica the tall palm trees of piazza del Risorgimento come into sight. Here [map ref. d] the modern wall joins at right angles the last stretch of the wall built by Pius IV in the second half of the 1500s. On the corner hangs a large coat of arms of Pius XI, the pope under whose pontificate the Vatican became an independent state.

what was spared of the gate: compare this picture with the one on the right: can you tell where the fragments come from?	Exactly on this spot once stood Porta Angelica, through which pilgrims heading to the Vatican entered the city coming from the north. The long and straight road that sprang from this gate was called via Angelica, as well; Pius IV had it opened as a short cut: after having followed the Cassian Way (one of ancient Rome's most important northern approaches), the pilgrims were led by this road straight to St.Peter's tomb. Nowadays, the modern street names have changed, but the road still follows the original direction; it runs straight for about one mile, reaching the Tiber, then it follows the river bank for another ½ mile, and it finally merges into the Cassian Way, as it once used to do.	the original Porta Angelica, in an 18th century etching

As already mentioned in page 1, both the gate and the longest part of the wall (i.e. from this spot up to the castle) were taken down in the late 19th century for the making of the district.

Only very few remains of this stretch are left: on the other side of the road, opposite the corner [map ref. e], a small fragment of the wall's base can be seen under a glass panel, below the street level. Instead, a few remains of the original Porta Angelica were hung on the surviving part of the wall, just past the corner: they consist of a pair of angels, the coat of arms of Pius IV that hung above the gate and a Latin inscription that reads "HE SENT YOU HIS ANGELS TO PROTECT YOU IN EACH OF YOUR STREETS").

the wall of Pius VI (left) merging into Paul III's bastion (right); also note the recent gate, opened in 2006, closed by a bronze door	Only a few metres further, you will also notice a modern bronze door that bears the coat of arms of the present pope Benedict XVI. This minor gate was opened through the old wall in 2006. On leaving the square, very soon the road forms a bend to the right. This street is called via dei Bastioni di Michelangelo. Here the wall by Pius IV merges into the older structure, built some 30 years earlier under pope Paul III. Note how their hight seems very different: the first wall barely reaches the kerbstone of the older one. This is due to the ground on which they stand, originally sloping (this is the base of the Vatican Hill); now, instead, the ground level seems perfectly flat, thanks to a huge embankment created by the end of the 1800s, which buried the wall of Pius IV up to a certain height.

the wall of Pius VI (left) merging into Paul III's bastion (right);
also note the recent gate, opened in 2006, closed by a bronze door

Only a few metres further, you will also notice a modern bronze door that bears the coat of arms of the present pope Benedict XVI. This minor gate was opened through the old wall in 2006.

On leaving the square, very soon the road forms a bend to the right. This street is called via dei Bastioni di Michelangelo. Here the wall by Pius IV merges into the older structure, built some 30 years earlier under pope Paul III. Note how their hight seems very different: the first wall barely reaches the kerbstone of the older one. This is due to the ground on which they stand, originally sloping (this is the base of the Vatican Hill); now, instead, the ground level seems perfectly flat, thanks to a huge embankment created by the end of the 1800s, which buried the wall of Pius IV up to a certain height.

The Renaissance building high above the wall, whose top is framed with crenellation, is called Palazzetto Belvedere; it is now included in the Vatican Museums. By the first crossing the wall makes again a turn, this time to the left, forming a strong and sharp bastion [map ref. f], whose project was drawn by Michelangelo (whence the name of the street). A large coat of arms of Paul III's family (the Farnese), featuring six fleur-de-lys, hangs high over the corner. The wall now follows viale Vaticano, a long road that gradually climbs towards the western side of the Vatican. Very soon, on the left, you'll see two large doorways: the entrance to the Vatican Museums. One of the two (originally, the only doorway extant) is decorated with two statues, featuring Michelangelo and Raphael, flanking the coat of arms of Pius XI (1932). The road gradually grows steeper, and as soon as it comes to a left turn, the surrounding environment somewhat changes: viale Vaticano becomes more narrow, as it starts winding around the boundary wall, all the way to the top of the hill.	*the bastion of Paul III, drawn by Michelangelo*

The Renaissance building high above the wall, whose top is framed with crenellation, is called Palazzetto Belvedere; it is now included in the Vatican Museums.
By the first crossing the wall makes again a turn, this time to the left, forming a strong and sharp bastion [map ref. f], whose project was drawn by Michelangelo (whence the name of the street). A large coat of arms of Paul III's family (the Farnese), featuring six fleur-de-lys, hangs high over the corner.
The wall now follows viale Vaticano, a long road that gradually climbs towards the western side of the Vatican. Very soon, on the left, you'll see two large doorways: the entrance to the Vatican Museums. One of the two (originally, the only doorway extant) is decorated with two statues, featuring Michelangelo and Raphael, flanking the coat of arms of Pius XI (1932).
The road gradually grows steeper, and as soon as it comes to a left turn, the surrounding environment somewhat changes: viale Vaticano becomes more narrow, as it starts winding around the boundary wall, all the way to the top of the hill.

the bastion of Paul III, drawn by Michelangelo

the statues above the Vatican Museums' entrance	*a shady view along the western side of the walls*		This rather long stretch of wall has four bastions, i.e. four large arrow-shaped placements with a strengthened structure (see picture below); when enemies attacked between any of them, they would have been within the range of the artillery. In particular, from large windows located by the corners of each bastion (now walled up), cannons were fired.

On the side of the road opposite the walls, where a steep slope once protected the Vatican citadel, now stand the buildings of a modern neighborhood.

a typical bastion; note the two windows in the corner from where cannons were fired, and a small service passage below (both of them now walled up)	Due to the road's several sharp turns, it is safer to walk on the side of the road opposite the wall, always being careful of the fast traffic. It might seem strange that this long stretch of boundary had no gates at all; but up to the 1800s beyond the Vatican there was nothing but wilderness, and no road crossed this area, either: a gate here would have made no sense, and it would have even weakened the defensive structure. Only a few small service passages were opened here, such as the one shown below on the left, often located by a bastion or on spots easy to defend: they enabled the masons to check the wall from time to time, and to restore it, when needed.

a typical bastion; note the two windows in the corner from where cannons
were fired, and a small service passage below (both of them now walled up)

Due to the road's several sharp turns, it is safer to walk on the side of the road opposite the wall, always being careful of the fast traffic.

It might seem strange that this long stretch of boundary had no gates at all; but up to the 1800s beyond the Vatican there was nothing but wilderness, and no road crossed this area, either: a gate here would have made no sense, and it would have even weakened the defensive structure.
Only a few small service passages were opened here, such as the one shown below on the left, often located by a bastion or on spots easy to defend: they enabled the masons to check the wall from time to time, and to restore it, when needed.

a service passage: note the small device on the keystone	After the Vatican became independent (and the walls turned into an official boundary between two states), all these passages were walled up; they can be still easily spotted out by the white lintel that frames them and, sometimes, by a different brick texture. Most of them bear a small heraldic device or the name of a pope carved on the keystone.	the outer wall is shown in blue, the remains of the early wall by Leo IV (yellow arrows) are still visible from above

On the inner side of this stretch, completely unseen from the road, stand the remains of the early defensive wall built by Leo IV in the 9th century (see picture above right), reinforced by Nicholas V in the mid 1400s by adding round towers.

the coat of arms of Urban VIII

On the outer side, instead, you will notice along the way a number of coats of arms belonging to different popes: some of them had the wall lengthened, others had it restored. In particular, one of the most common ones features three bees: this is the Barberini family device, referring to Urban VIII (1623-44).

At the top of the hill, we finally reach the westernmost bastion, so sharp that the road almost makes a U-turn: from this corner it is possible to take a view of both the western and southern sides of the wall.

the sharp bastion at the western end