In the aftermath, the church learned from its past mistakes and worked to claim the fortress as its own. This strategy was incredibly valuable in that St. Gregory VII was able to take refuge there in 1084 during a siege of Rome by Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. Gregory VII would not be the only one to use it as such, as the building became an important refuge for Popes, and its later role as a barracks helped defend Rome (and the Vatican) against enemy invaders.

That said, the Castel San’Angelo didn’t always have this military importance. It began as Hadrian’s tomb, whose remnants help form the inner tower structure. The bridge over the Tiber, known as the Ponte Sant’Angelo, was also built by Hadrian. Those are some of the only original structures that remain, as the space was transformed into a fortress in the 5th century, so walls and other defensive elements had to be periodically added into the space.

Additionally, when examining the Castel today, it’s important to note that many decorations were added during the Renaissance period to reflect Papal dominance, like statues of St. Peter and St. Paul on the Ponte Angelo. Thus, they should be disregarded when considering what the space would have looked like during early papal processions.

Finally, the Castel also has an important religious history. During a plague in 590, there is a story that St. Gregory the Great led an emergency procession by the Castel, and upon arriving, witnessed the Archangel Michael appear over the structure, sheathing a sword and announcing the end of the disease. This event helped spur the Castel’s placement within many processions as a place where a miracle occurred. Thus, in summary, the Castel represented an important marker of the papacy’s physical and religious power with its ability to both loom over the city and provide miracles, which is why it played an important role in papal processions.]]> Rome before Avignon: A Social History of Thirteenth-Century Rome. New York City, NY: Basic Books, 1974

Chandlery, Peter Joseph. Pilgrim-Walks in Rome: A Guide to the Holy Places in The City and Its Vicinity. America Press, 1908

Macadam, Alta and Annabel Barber. The Blue Guide to Rome. London, England: Blue Guides Limited, 2016.

Partridge, Loren. The Art of the Renaissance in Rome (1400-1600). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 1996.

Ring, Trudy. Noelle Watson, and Paul Schellinger. Southern Europe: International Dictionary of Historic Places. London, England: Routledge, 2013.

Stinger, Charles L. The Renaissance in Rome. Bloomington Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1998.]]>
The Church held that the Jews’ belief in the Old Testament signified the truth of Christianity, yet their suffering from the diaspora showed that God punished them for rejecting Christ. As such, the Church made sure that Christians got privileges that Jews didn’t. An example of this is how various Popes restricted the Jews’ ability to construct new synagogues, and allowed existing synagogues to claimed by Christian leaders if those leaders wanted to use the property for themselves. Yet, Jews also were granted various political rights, which were only occasionally enforced, like citizenship, protection from attacks on synagogues, and the right to not be tried during the Sabbath.

As for the fortress itself, it was controlled mainly by the Orsini family during the 12th century, an incredibly powerful and wealthy family in Rome. Over the course of about a hundred years, they managed to buy up properties all around the area, accumulating a tower, oven, garden, and house nearby. The fortress was one of three they controlled throughout the city, built on top of the old ruins of the Roman Theatre of Pompey near the Campo di Fiore. It lasted for a long time, being passed down between the Pierleone, Savelli, Massimi, and Orsini families, but sadly was torn down sometime during the 20th century. Currently, Palazzo Pio stands where it would have been.

Why this structure was chosen for the procession is not explicitly stated, but there is evidence many Jews lived nearby, plus the fortress and nearby Campo di Fiore were also important landmarks in the city. Additionally, it's important to note that this ceremony also took place at other fortresses over the years, including the aforementioned Castel di Sant’Angelo. This distinction makes it clear that the goal of this procession stop was to demonstrate the Pope’s control over the Jews, but it doesn’t answer why the Arpacata was chosen over other fortresses.]]> Blewitt, Octavian and John Murray. Handbook for Travellers in Central Italy [by O. Blewitt], 1853.

Brentano, Robert. Rome before Avignon: A Social History of Thirteenth-Century Rome. New York City, NY: Basic Books, 1974)

Gregorovius, Ferdinand. History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. G. Bell & Sons, 1906.

Macadam, Alta and Annabel Barber. The Blue Guide to Rome. London, England: Blue Guides Limited, 2016.

Partridge, Loren. The Art of the Renaissance in Rome (1400-1600). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 1996.

Rist, Rebecca. Popes and Jews, 1095-1291. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Stinger, Charles L. The Renaissance in Rome. Bloomington Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1998.

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The pope’s return from Avignon doubled the population of Rome as he brought over the papal bureaucracy and business followed suit. This led to the transformation of the via Papalis as new palaces were constructed to house this inflow of residents, as well as conflict between the old Roman elite and new papal curia. Often times the pope enacted policies that favored new curia and penalized native Romans such as granting these new members construction permits and privileges over members of the old elite. To increase papal control along the via Papalis, the pope demolished porticoes, some of the most important spaces in the city where business and legal matters were conducted. The destruction of porticos and widening of narrow streets served to improve papal defense in the chance of a revolt.

In this way, the via Papalis became the theater for tensions between the old and new elite which manifested themselves in the utilization of space and construction of palaces. When the pope processed down the via Papalis, he would often have been facing the people most critical of him: old noble Romans. As the pope walked along the road during his coronation, a member of his cavalcade would toss coins into the crowd. By completing the papal procession along this route, traversing the territory of the Roman elite and the most important religious and secular sites, the pope claimed to unify and dominate the city, often provoking stoning and rioting in the process.
]]> Urban History 37, no. 3 (2010): 434–51. doi:10.1017/S0963926810000556.

Partridge, Loren. The Art of the Renaissance in Rome, 1400-1600. London: Laurence King Publishers, 2012.]]>
Once arrived at the Lateran, the pope would perform his ritual possession of the church known as the possessio. The pope would cast coins at the marble seat, the sedes stercoraria, at the Latern’s entrance. He would be led up to this seat where he would sit down. The cardinals would raise him up to fulfill the saying: “He raised the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the dunghill to give them a place with princes and to assign them a seat of honor” (1 Kings 2:8, cf. Psalm 112:7-8). The pope would then remove denarii from his garb and throw them into the crowd while reciting Acts 3:6 “I have neither gold nor silver but what I have I give to you”.

This ceremony is similar to those conducted by Byzantine emperors upon their accession, illustrating Byzantine influences in Rome during this time. One interpretation of the possessio is that the coins thrown by the pope are his gift to those who had elected him and is an offering made by the possessor of the church, the pope, to its owner, the people.

Popes were crowned at the Lateran until 1870 when Rome became the secular capital of Italy.]]> The Catholic Historical Review 85, no. 4 (1999): 531-40. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.carleton.edu/stable/25025585. Macadam, Alta, and A. B. Barber. Blue Guide to Rome. 11th ed. London: Somerset Books, 2016.]]>
The statues he made are the ones you see at the top of the stairs leading to the Capitoline Hill. “The naked horses which trample on the earth, that is on the mighty princes of the world that rule over the men of this world. And there shall come a very mighty king who shall mount the horses, that is, upon the might of the princes of the world. Meanwhile there are two men half-naked, who stand by the horses with their arms raised high and with fingers bent who tell of the things that are to be, and they are naked as all world knowledge is naked and open to their minds” (The Marvels of Rome 19).

Under a Christian lens, the prophecy of the mighty King who shall mount the horses that trample the earth is a foretelling of the coming of Christ. What is fascinating, however, is that if you look up the name Dioscuri in the dictionary you will see it comes from the Greek Διός κούροι meaning the sons of Zeus. This appellation normally refers to Castor and Pollux who make up the Gemini constellation. They are often associated with horses and are the patrons of the equites which were a Roman order of Mounted knights whose membership was originally based on wealth, birth, and education.

]]> The Marvels of Rome. Edited by Francis Morgan Nichols. Second. New York, New York: Italica Press, 1986.]]>
Unfortunately, this miraculous temple was destroyed by the blessed Sylvester who feared that orators who came to Rome would wander through it and other profane buildings instead of churches- furthering paganism rather than celebrating Christianity. He kept the head and hands of Phoebus in the Lateran to remember the temple, but they are now known falsely and vargarly as Samson’s Ball.]]> The Marvels of Rome. Edited by Francis Morgan Nichols. Second. New York, New York: Italica Press, 1986.]]>
Later, in the time of a Christian Emperor Phocas, Pope Boniface re-consecreated the temple to the Blessed Virgin Mary and arranged that the Roman Pontiff should sing mass there and give communion. ]]> The Marvels of Rome. Edited by Francis Morgan Nichols. Second. New York, New York: Italica Press, 1986.]]> Rome, Profile of a City, 312-1308. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1980. 295]]> Rome before Avignon : A Social History of Thirteenth-century Rome. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.

Frugoni, Chiara, and Frugoni, Arsenio. A Day in a Medieval City. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.]]>
Oftentimes, stairs would be located outside the building, typically covered with a protective roof and leading up to a balcony or loggia. Floor plans suggest that each level had only one or two rooms. For wealthy families, the walls would be lined with fabrics designed to keep out both frigid winds and summer humidity; middle class residents would paint their walls to suggest they could afford the same temperature regulation; and lower-class Romans lived with bare walls, unable to even keep up appearances.]]> A Day in a Medieval City. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.

Krautheimer, Richard, and Marvin Trachtenberg. Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.]]>