Located about five kilometers from the Lateran, the Vatican was then only a place of pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter. In ancient times, the Vatican Hill was home to Emperor Nero’s circus, where many Christians and Jews were probably martyred and executed. North of the circus was a small cemetery where the Apostle Peter is said to have been buried. Later a monument was erected at the site, and in the 4th century, Emperor Constantine had a church built-the first basilica of St. Peter. Monasteries, hostels, and shelters for pilgrims were also built there.
At the end of the 9th century, the first defensive walls were built around St. Peter’s Basilica and Hadrian’s Mausoleum (St. Angelus Castle).
