Piazza del Campidoglio and the Capitoline Museums

Set on one of the seven hills of Rome, Piazza del Campidoglio was the religious heart (temple of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva) and political centre of ancient Rome. The square’s political role continued afterwards, becoming the seat of the city’s government.

Getting there: Bus lines (40, 46, 63, 70, 81, 83, 87…)

Address: Piazza del Campidoglio

Museum opening hours: open every day from 9:30 to 19:30. On 24 and 31 December from 9:30 to 14:00. Closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.

Ticket prices: €15 for the museums, but prices may be increased for temporary exhibitions. Free for under-6s, €7 for ages 6 to 25. Audioguide €4 (there is a version for children and families), videoguide €6.
Tickets can be bought online on the official website.

The present appearance of this magnificent trapezoidal square is due to Michelangelo, who drew up the plans in 1536 at the request of Pope Paul III, who wanted a square worthy of the city and able to receive the great figures of the day.

The square was already occupied by the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Senatorio. Michelangelo completed the space with a third palace (the Palazzo Nuovo) and opened the square onto the modern city with the staircase flanked by the ancient statues of Castor and Pollux.

Piazza del Campidoglio is paved with a geometric pattern and adorned with an ancient statue of Marcus Aurelius that stands at its centre (the original is displayed in the Capitoline Museums).

For a long time this statue was mistaken for that of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, which allowed it to escape destruction and thus become the only equestrian statue to have come down to us…

Michelangelo never saw this square finished; it was completed only a century later.

This square was chosen to appear on the Italian 50-cent coin…

The Palazzo Nuovo and the Palazzo dei Conservatori house museums. The one in the Palazzo Nuovo is the oldest public museum in the world, opened in 1734 by Pope Clement XII.

These museums hold very fine collections of ancient statues (including the famous she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus) and paintings (Veronese, Rubens, Titian…)