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ROME. CASTEL SANT'ANGELO - THE HALL OF THE BURIAL URNS OF THE MAUSOLEUM OF HADRIAN
At the center of the Mausoleum was
the Hall of the Burial Urns, built with blocks of travertine and tuff. It was completely covered with precious marbles, but only a small fragment of pavonazzetto remains;
the floor was paved with white marble from Luni (today’s Carrara marble).
The plan of the Hall of the Burial Urns has the shape of a Greek cross, with three niches on the east, west and north sides,
where the sarcophagi of the emperor Hadrian, of his wife Sabina and probably of Aelius Caesar (the designated heir who died before them) were placed.
A red porphyry sarcophagus was found in the Hall,
and it was reused for the tomb of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II (973-983) and was destroyed in a fire.
Only the lid has been preserved, which in the 17th century was transformed into a baptismal font by Carlo Fontana, and is now located in St. Peter's Basilica.
Access to the Hall of the Burial Urns was originally from the south, with a corridor (dromos) of which only a small part can be seen on the lower floor, hidden under the Valaldier walkway.
In the 15th century, the Hall of the Burial Urns was transformed into a casemate: the original access, the Lower Vestibule and the Spiral Ramp were buried and walled up because they were an indefensible access to the upper part of the fortress
. Their memory was lost until 1825, when they were rediscovered by Luigi Bavari.
Inside the Hall of the Burial Urns two rooms were built and used as prisons, the terrifying «Gemelle» (Twins) where Benvenuto Cellini was imprisoned.
Above them passed the Diametrical Ramp that led to the upper part of the Castle.
In the 19th century, the Gemelle and the Diametrical Ramp were demolished and replaced by the Valadier walkway.
It is still the main access to the upper part of the Castle where the magnificent papal apartments decorated by some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance are located.
In this way, the Hall of the Burial Urns has become a passageway to reach the upper floors of the Castle: visitors rush past and do not understand that originally it was the most sacred and important room in the Mausoleum.
In the Hall of the Burial Urns,
special illuminations still occur on the days of the Summer Solstice (June 19-24).
The Sun enters through the two window-tunnels that open in the vault and creates rectangles of light in each of the three niches.
The symbolic meaning of the illuminations and the thousand-year history of the Mausoleum are revealed in the book by Marina De Franceschini «Castel Sant'Angelo. Mausoleum of Hadrian. Architecture and Light» (also in English edition) which offers a new and unpublished reconstruction of its ancient appearance.
©2023-25 Marina De Franceschini
www.rirella-editrice.com
e-Mail: rirella.editrice@gmail.com
VILLA ADRIANA di Marina De Franceschini
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