Vatican Seen From Castello Santangelo, Rome, Italy Stock Photography

he popes converted the structure into a castle beginning in the 14th century Pope Nicholas III connected the castle to St Peter s Basilica by a covered fortified corridor Castel Sant Angelo Rome Italy called the Passetto di Borgo The fortress was the refuge of Pope Clement VII from the siege of Charles V s Landsknechte during the Sack of Rome 1527 the fortress was also the place in which Benvenuto Cellini while incarcerated due to charges of embezzlement murder and sodomy describes strolling the ramparts and shooting enemy soldiers