Editing Passetto di Borgo

{{Short description|Papal bridge in Rome}}
[[File:Passetto di Borgo from Castel Sant'Angelo 01.jpg|thumb|250px|Route of the "Passetto" from the Vatican (in the background) to Castel Sant'Angelo.]]
[[Image:Passetto2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The southern side of the "Passetto" seen from the Borgo S. Angelo.]]
[[File:VicoloDelFarinone1930.jpg|thumb|200px|The Passetto in its original context: in background the rear side of [[Palazzo Rusticucci-Accoramboni]] seen from Vicolo del Farinone, before the demolition of the neighborhood (c. 1930)]]
[[Image:Rome passetto night outside.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Over the Passetto, going towards the Vatican.]]

The '''Passetto di Borgo''', or simply '''Passetto''', is an elevated passage that links the [[Vatican City]] with the [[Castel Sant'Angelo]]. It is an approximately {{convert|800|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} corridor, located in the [[rione]] of [[Borgo (rione of Rome)|Borgo]]. It was erected in 1277 by [[Pope Nicholas III]], but parts of the wall were built by [[Totila]] during the [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic War]].

On at least two occasions it served as an escape route for [[Popes]] in danger. [[Pope Alexander VI]] crossed it in 1494, when [[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]] invaded the city and the pope's life was in peril. [[Clement VII]] escaped to safety through this passage during the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|Sack of Rome]] in 1527, when troops of the [[Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman]] Emperor, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], massacred almost the entire [[Swiss Guard]] on the steps of [[St Peter's Basilica]].

==See also==
* [[Index of Vatican City-related articles]]
* [[Vasari Corridor]], Florence
* [[Passages for Maria Maddalena de' Medici]] ({{abbr|incl.|including}} the {{lang|it|corridoio mediceo}}), also in Florence

==References==
*{{cite book 
 | last=D'Onofrio
 | first=Cesare
 | title=Castel Sant'Angelo e Borgo tra Roma e Papato
 | publisher=Romana Società Editrice
 | location=[[Rome]]
 | language=it
 | year=1978
}}

*{{cite book 
 | last=Di Fiume
 | first=Mark
 | title=Sogno nel Passetto?
 | publisher=Ballo Editrice
 | location=[[Bologna]]
 | language=it
 | year=2000
}}

*{{cite book 
 | last=Augias
 | first=Corrado
 | author-link=Corrado Augias
 | title=The secrets of Rome : love & death in the eternal city
 | publisher=[[Angelo Rizzoli|Rizzoli]] Ex Libris
 | location=[[New York City|New York]]
 | year=2007
 | isbn=9780847829330
}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*[http://roma.andreapollett.com/S1/roma-c7.htm Curious And Unusual: the Passetto]

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{{Italy-struct-stub}}
{{Vatican City topics}}{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1279]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Rome]]
[[Category:Rome R. XIV Borgo]]
[[Category:Pope Alexander VI]]