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Pope Paul III had the unenviable task of restoring Castello di Ostia after it was ransacked by the Lansquenets
Towards the end of the 14th century a fortress was built upon the rotunda in all the magnificence and splendour of the renaissance period and became closely linked with Rome and the papacy. Guiliano della Rovere who later went on to become Pope Julius II was commissioned to build the castle and construction finished in 1487.
Pope Paul III had the unenviable task of restoring the castle after it was ransacked by the Lansquenets. It was later bombed by the Spaniards and became a centre of military power for the pontiffs. In 1557 the use of the castle as a base for their military power declined due to the flooding of the River Tiber. This decline was caused by the diversion of the Tiber away from the castle. The castle, triangular in shape has two round towers in the corners and a central building standing 24 meters high and 15 meters in diameter, is divided into two distinct areas –military and residential. One of the towers of Castello di Ostia has a very unusual staircase. The extraordinary feature of the staircase is that the steps are not supported by a structure of any kind. This is achieved by each step being incorporated in the wall of the tower with the weight of each step being borne by the following step.
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Castello di Ostia (Castle of Ostia) – in the Italian region of Lazio, began life during the early part of the 1400’s, when Pope Marino V ordered the construction of an “excelsa turris et rotunda.”
