Castel Sant'Angelo

The building in the background of this painting is the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome. The structure was built back in the second century as the tomb of the emperor Hadrian. It was later turned into a fortified castle to defend St. Peter’s Basilica. In this painting, fireworks are launched from its top during a celebration called the Girandola festival.

Image: “Le feu d'artifice tiré du château Saint-Ange” [Le feu d'artifice tiré du château Saint-Ange] by Achille Etna Michallon (1821). From the Musée du Louvre, Département des Peinture