Discover The Secret Escape Route Of Popes: Walk The Passetto Di Borgo!

What do you do when your pope and the Vatican is under attack? You're probably going to try to escape to save your life. Two Renaissance popes famously did just that. In 1494, the Borgia pope, Alexander VI, escaped the Vatican with his life when it was under attack by the French king, Charles VIII. And in the infamous and bloody sack of Rome of May 6, 1527, the Medici pope, Clement VII, also fled the Vatican and saved his life. Unfortunately, on that occasion, almost all the Swiss Guard were massacred on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, and thousands of Romans were slaughtered in the streets. To commemorate that solemn anniversary in which so many Swiss Guard gave their lives, every May 6 is the swearing-in ceremony for the new Swiss Guard recruits at the Vatican. For an amazing firsthand account of what transpired on that day in 1527, I highly recommend the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. So, during these horrific, violent sacks of Rome, how did the popes escape and save their lives? They took a secret passageway, which today we call the Pasetto di Borgo. Pasetto means little passageway, and Borgo is referring to Vatican City, the Borgo of the Vatican. The Pasetto di Borgo connects St. Peter's Basilica with Castel Sant'Angelo, which you can see behind me here. The Pasetto stretches 800 meters, or about half a mile, between the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican and Castel Sant'Angelo. If you don't know, Castel Sant'Angelo actually started out as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian. Following the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, Hadrian's tomb fell into disuse and into disrepair. In those times and in the following centuries, Rome was often attacked, and one great place to hide out was this very fortified ruin, which was once the mausoleum of Hadrian. And so, this giant monument became known as the Castrum, or Castle. Sometime around the 6th century, the Ostrogoth king Totila built a small defensive wall near the Vatican. Over the centuries, it was built up and added to by different popes, most famously by Pope Leo IV in the 9th century. When Pope Leo built his walls, they actually went all the way around the Vatican. What was inside of those walls became known as the Leonine City, and those walls are referred to today as the Leonine Walls. Some remnants of the Leonine Walls remain. You can see them a little bit around the Vatican, but the best way to see the Leonine Walls is by visiting the Vatican Gardens. Eventually, in 1277, Pope Nicholas III added on to this wall and made a kind of a walkway, so it changed the nature of the wall from just fortification to an actual passageway. By connecting the apostolic palace of Vatican City with Castel Sant'Angelo, it gave popes a way to escape the Vatican if it fell under siege. And as I said, both the Borgia pope and the Medici pope famously did so. There is a lot more to talk about where Castel Sant'Angelo is concerned, but on today's video, I want to let you know that you can now visit the Passetto di Borgo. You can walk on it. If you want to know more about the history of Castel Sant'Angelo, which is actually really fascinating, visit my page on the Romewise website, which I've linked to in the description below. But let's talk about this Passetto. Some years back, we were able to visit it, and I thought it was really amazing, but then they closed it up, and then COVID happened, and when a lot of things were reopening, the Passetto was not one of them. But as of December 2024, just in time for the Jubilee, they've reopened the Passetto, and now you can book a visit. There are two ways to visit the Passetto. You can visit it as a combined ticket along with Castel Sant'Angelo, or you can visit it on its own without visiting Castel Sant'Angelo. The visit to just the Passetto is only an hour long, so if you're short on time, you might want to book that visit. But if you're a history buff and you love the ancient stuff, I would definitely recommend including a visit to the castle as well. Visiting the Passetto is always a guided tour. You cannot just wander around on your own. At the moment, tours are offered in English and Italian. They're offered during the day and also at night. You'll want to book this tour online because it will sell out. I am linking to the official website in the description below. I've done this both during the day and at night, and they're both wonderful visits. It just depends on what kind of schedule you have and what you want to see. In fact, if you visit Castel Sant'Angelo, you will see the papal apartments. It's said that the Borgia Pope used to actually hang out in Castel Sant'Angelo and have pretty wild parties there. Another reason I love to visit Castel Sant'Angelo is for all of the stunning Renaissance art inside. So whether you choose to just visit the Passetto by itself or do a combined visit of the Passetto and Castel Sant'Angelo, I really recommend doing this when you visit Rome. I think a lot of people don't realize this, but Castel Sant'Angelo is one of the best ways that you can understand Rome's 2,000-year-old history through its architecture. As I mentioned, it started out as Hadrian's tomb. It later became a fortress. It was later a prison. And of course, today it is a state-run museum. Definitely recommend this visit. It is excellent. It is a wonderful way to see both Castel Sant'Angelo and St. Peter's Basilica from a unique vantage point. So you can walk almost all the way to Bernini's Colonnade, but not quite, because once you get to a certain point, that becomes Vatican State, and we can't go there from here. I've been here at night before in the past, and it is really amazing. I highly recommend coming at night, but during the day is also special because you can really see everything. For more really cool ancient Roman sites to see besides the Colosseum, don't miss my video right here.