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Address Viale G. Ceccarelli Ceccarius, 00193 Roma, Italy Similar Castel Sant'Angelo, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Apostolic Palace, Vatican Hill, Santo Spirito in Sassia | ||
Il passetto di borgo
The Passetto di Borgo, or simply Passetto, is an elevated passage that links the Vatican City with the Castel Sant'Angelo. It is an approximately 800 metres (2,600 ft) long corridor, located in the rione of Borgo. It was erected in 1277 by Pope Nicholas III, but parts of the wall were built by Totila during the Gothic War. On two occasions it served as an escape route for Popes in danger.
Contents
- Il passetto di borgo
- The passetto di borgo secret passageway of the popes
- In popular culture
- References
Pope Alexander VI crossed it in 1494, when Charles VIII invaded the city and the pope's life was in peril.
Clement VII escaped to safety through this passage during the Sack of Rome in 1527, when troops of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, massacred almost the entire Swiss Guard on the steps of St Peter's Basilica.
The passetto di borgo secret passageway of the popes
In popular culture
The Passetto played a key role in the Dan Brown novel Angels & Demons, through which the antagonist (an illuminatus) transported four abducted cardinals to the Castel Sant'Angelo. The protagonists Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra later used the Passetto as a shortcut to Vatican City.
The Passetto also appears in the videogame Assassin's Creed II, whose protagonist Ezio Auditore Da Firenze fights his way along it on the way from the Castle to the Sistine Chapel.