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On the outer side of the river Tevere (Tiber), with respect to historical centre of Rome, there is St. Angel's Castle (Castel Sant'Angelo) formerly the main fortress of Papal Court.
Initially it was the mausoleum built to hold the tombs of emperor Hadrian and his family: the construction began in 135 and was completed by his heir Antonino the Pious. The monument consisted of a stone square basement of 80 meters each side, upon which there was a cylindrical wall 20 meters high, on whose top there was a heap of earth ending with the statue of the emperor.
During Middle Ages the popes gradually transformed it into a fortress, building upon the cylinder a new stone floor with the crenelation upon the surrounding walls. They built also the fortified passage connecting to the Vatican palaces.
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