On Monday, the Passetto or Corridoio di Borgo in Rome was reopened after six years of restoration work.
Presumably built in 1277 under Pope Nicholas III, the corridor is an above-ground passageway integrated into the Leonine Wall from Castel Sant'Angelo to the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.
Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) and Clement VII (1523-1534) once fled from the marauding mercenaries of Emperor Charles V via this part of the medieval fortifications behind the thick walls of the Tiber fortress during the invasion of Rome.
147 Swiss Guards died defending Clement during the "Sacco di Roma" on 6 May 1527.
The swearing-in of new guardsmen still takes place on this day.