Capitoline Square (Piazza del Campidoglio)

 In italian : Piazza del Campidoglio

On the Capitoline Hill, Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Square) is a masterpiece of harmony, designed by Michelangelo in the sixteenth century. It is also a peaceful and quiet place. There where here religious sanctuary since the early days of Rome.

Presentation and History

In antiquity, the Capitoline Hill was an important place of worship dedicated to Roman deities including Jupiter with a huge temple which has disappeared, except some underground remains. Nowadays, it is the seat of the administration of the city of Rome, and whose palaces house the Capitoline Museums, the most important museum of the city devoted largely to Roman antiquity.

Piazza del Campidoglio

The square was designed in the second half of the 16th century by Michelangelo. He redesigned the facades of the pre-existing palaces, creating symmetry, and created the monumental staircase that accesses there.

In the center is a copy of the equestrian bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius (120-180), 2.7 meters high. The original is in the nearby museum.

Almost square in shape, it is framed by three main buildings. The Senate Palace (Palazzo Senatorio) is in the middle in front, which is the municipal seat of Rome and built on the ancient Tabularium that preserved the Roman archives in ancient times. It is preceded by a beautiful staircase with double railing decorated with beautiful fountains with the statues of the Tiber on the right, the Nile on the left, and the goddess Roma in the center.
On the south side, to the left of the previous one, the Palazzo dei Conservatori was completed by Dalla Porta. It houses the Capitoline Pinacoteca of the Museums. Opposite, its twin Palazzo Nuovo was built to make the square symmetrical. It was also completed in the 17th century by the Rainaldi brothers. It houses the other part of the museums, including ancient Hellenic and Roman works. In the museum one passes from one palace to another by crossing the Tabularium at the base of the Senate Palace.

The main staircase to access the square is the Cordonata capitolina, also designed by Michelangelo, which was thought to be used by horsemen. On both sides, it is framed by the two colossal statues of the demigods brothers Castor and Pollux, sons of Jupiter.
Another large marble staircase leads to the steps of the church of medieval origin Santa Maria en Aracoeli, which actually dates back to the 5th century, rebuilt in Romanesque-Gothic style by the Franciscans in the 13th century. An important fresco by Pinturicchio describes inside the history of San Bernardino di Siena.

Photo gallery

Informations and map

Links

• Virtual visit of Piazza del Campidoglio and the Capitoline Museums
• Capitoline Museums

Map

Selection of hotels

Selection of hotels and accommodations, chambers or apartments, ordered by price or by distance from the square:

• Good hotels and accommodation sorted BY PRICE less than 600 meters from Piazza del Campidoglio
• Good hotels and accommodation sorted BY DISTANCE from Piazza del Campidoglio