Castel Sant'Angelo
The mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian, later a fortress and papal residence, today a national museum on the banks of the Tiber with a panoramic terrace.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Castel Sant’Angelo began as the mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian. It was built on the right bank of the Tiber in the 2nd century AD to house imperial burials, and the monument was linked to the centre of the city by the Ponte Elio, today the Ponte Sant’Angelo. In late antiquity the massive circular structure was incorporated into the Aurelian Walls and transformed into a fortress.
The present name derives from the tradition that Pope Gregory the Great, during a plague, saw the archangel Michael on the top of the building sheathing his sword. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance the castle was used by the popes as a secure refuge, prison and residence. Connected to the Vatican by the Passetto di Borgo, it housed the frescoed papal apartments, which reached their greatest splendour under Paul III Farnese.
Having become state property in 1870, the building was used for a period as a military barracks and prison, and in 1925 it opened to the public as the Museo Nazionale. The route crosses the Roman ramps, the courtyards, the rooms of the papal apartments and the collections, up to the Terrazza dell’Angelo, which offers a view over the city.
Highlights
- Spiral ramp and funerary chamber of Hadrian’s mausoleum
- Frescoed papal apartments with the Sala Paolina
- Cortile dell’Angelo and Cortile delle Palle
- Terrazza dell’Angelo with a view over Rome
- Passetto di Borgo, fortified corridor towards the Vatican (dedicated visits)
Permanent exhibition
- Percorso museale: mausoleo, appartamenti papali e collezioni – The route crosses the structures of Hadrian’s mausoleum, the courtyards, the papal apartments and the museum’s collections up to the terrace.
- Founded
- 1925
- Operated by
- Ministero della Cultura (Direzione musei statali della città di Roma)
- Director
- Giovanni Battista Borghese
- Visitors per year
- approx. 918,591
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €18 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €2EU citizens aged 18 to 25 |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 17 · Free admission for under-18s. |
| Visitors with disabilities | –Free admission and reductions as provided by current legislation. |
| Groups (10+ people) | –Groups of 10 to 25 people: booking mandatory, entries from 9:00 to 17:30 with only one entry every 15 minutes. The radio guide for groups (excluding school groups) is mandatory and costs €2 per person. |
| “Lunedì di Castello” (first Monday of the month, 14:00–20:00) | €5On site only, without booking, not for groups. |
Free admission: First Sunday of the month, with admission from 9:00 and last admission at 18:30, without booking.
From 1 July 2026 the standard ticket costs €18. Booking is optional but recommended on weekends and public holidays. Tickets are named: the name must match the identity document. The ticket also allows free admission to the Casa Museo Boncompagni Ludovisi and the Casa Museo Hendrik Christian Andersen. For schools, booking is mandatory and tickets are not named.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Visitors with disabilities have limited access to the outdoor spaces. Works financed by the PNRR (Italian recovery plan) are under way to improve accessibility, and they may change the circular route on the ground floor. The facilitated visits of the Passetto di Borgo (second and fourth Sunday of the month, at 10:45 and 12:15) start from the Torre del Mascherino and involve no stairs.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
- Museum shop
- Coat check: not available
No cloakroom service is provided.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 1.5 hrs |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | The free guided visits in Italian, “Castello racconta Castello”, last about an hour and a half, are limited to a maximum of 10 people and require an entrance ticket and booking. Visits to the Passetto di Borgo take place from Friday to Sunday from 9:00 to 13:00 (except on the first Sunday of the month) and on Saturday evenings from 19:00 to 23:00. They are booked on museiitaliani.it or with the Musei Italiani app. Animals may not be brought in. |
