Borgo: the medieval lanes and the approach to St Peter's

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

1. 01

   1

   Castel Sant'Angelo

   Start at Hadrian's drum of a mausoleum, later a fortress and a papal bolt-hole. Cross the Ponte Sant'Angelo for Bernini's line of angels, then look back: the dome of St Peter's sits behind the castle, the whole walk in one frame.

   01

   Castel Sant'Angelo

   Start at Hadrian's drum of a mausoleum, later a fortress and a papal bolt-hole. Cross the Ponte Sant'Angelo for Bernini's line of angels, then look back: the dome of St Peter's sits behind the castle, the whole walk in one frame.

   ◉Street View
2. 02

   2

   Borgo Pio

   The best-surviving of the old Borgo lanes, a narrow cobbled street of trattorie and shutters that the wrecking balls of the 1930s missed. Walk its length; this is what the whole quarter looked like before Via della Conciliazione.

   02

   Borgo Pio

   The best-surviving of the old Borgo lanes, a narrow cobbled street of trattorie and shutters that the wrecking balls of the 1930s missed. Walk its length; this is what the whole quarter looked like before Via della Conciliazione.

   ◉Street View
3. 03

   3

   Il Passetto di Borgo

   The raised covered wall running from the castle to the Vatican — the escape corridor popes used when Rome was sacked. Look up from Borgo Pio to trace its line along the top of the brick rampart.

   03

   Il Passetto di Borgo

   The raised covered wall running from the castle to the Vatican — the escape corridor popes used when Rome was sacked. Look up from Borgo Pio to trace its line along the top of the brick rampart.

   ◉Street View
4. 04

   4

   Via della Conciliazione

   The broad avenue Mussolini drove through the medieval quarter in the 1930s to give St Peter's a grand approach — controversial then, undeniable now. Walk the centre line; the dome grows with every step.

   04

   Via della Conciliazione

   The broad avenue Mussolini drove through the medieval quarter in the 1930s to give St Peter's a grand approach — controversial then, undeniable now. Walk the centre line; the dome grows with every step.

   ◉Street View
5. 05

   5

   Piazza San Pietro — the colonnade

   Bernini's two great curved arms of columns, four deep, embracing the square. Find the marble disc in the paving between fountain and obelisk: stand on it and the four rows line up as one. The trick everyone tries, and it works.

   05

   Piazza San Pietro — the colonnade

   Bernini's two great curved arms of columns, four deep, embracing the square. Find the marble disc in the paving between fountain and obelisk: stand on it and the four rows line up as one. The trick everyone tries, and it works.

   ◉Street View
6. 06

   6

   The obelisk

   The Egyptian obelisk at the centre, brought to Rome by Caligula and dragged here in 1586 by a feat of engineering that supposedly held the watching crowd to total silence on pain of death. Touch the base; it's older than everything around it.

   06

   The obelisk

   The Egyptian obelisk at the centre, brought to Rome by Caligula and dragged here in 1586 by a feat of engineering that supposedly held the watching crowd to total silence on pain of death. Touch the base; it's older than everything around it.

   ◉Street View