After standing in St. Peter’s Square for a good while, we walked down the street and came across a small church. We decided to wander into it and to no surprise it was absolutely stunning.  It still astonishes me how beautiful and unique each of the churches are here in Rome. Even the smaller churches contain such detail and beauty.

Then we walked further down the street as the sun was beginning to set. We turned back to look at the view and we could not believe our eyes. The way the sun was hitting all of the buildings, especially the Vatican, was breath taking. I don’t think pictures can capture how beautiful and picturesque the view really was.

We continued our walk and reached the Castel Sant’Angelo. We entered the castle, not knowing exactly what it was or why it was there. We discovered that the castle was originally built as the monumental grave of the Roman Empire Publio Elio Adriano and was used as a tomb by the imperial families. The Mausoleum was built on the right bank of the river Tiber and today, now called Ponte Sant’Angelo, linked the Mausoleum to the ancient city on the opposite side of the Tiber. It was interesting to finally learn about this castle that I passed numerous times but knew nothing about.

After exploring the castle and learning about the history behind it, we hiked to the top. The view from on top of the castle was surreal. The sun was in the middle of setting and I know I said it before, but the way the sun was draped over the buildings made it literally look like it was a painting.