Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums stand on Capitoline Hill in Rome, the city’s main civic museum complex. Two Renaissance palaces, the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo, face each other across Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio. The square was designed in 1536 and completed over centuries, marking the hill as a symbol of Rome’s history. The museums trace their origins to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV returned ancient bronzes to the Roman people. These works included the Capitoline Wolf and the Boy with Thorn, once kept in the Lateran Palace. The museums hold celebrated Roman sculptures such as the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius and the Dying Gaul. Their collections span inscriptions, coins and artefacts from the city’s civic and religious life. The Palazzo dei Conservatori also features the Conservators’ Apartment, its walls covered in frescoes depicting Rome’s early history. Pope Clement XII opened the museum to the public in 1734, making it one of the world’s first public museums. Temporary exhibitions now run alongside the permanent displays, drawing visitors from across the globe. Inside, visitors find the grand staircase of the Palazzo Senatorio leading to the museums. The courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori displays the gilded Hercules and the fragments of a colossal statue of Domitian. The Hall of Emperors and Philosophers holds portraits from Cardinal Albani’s collection. The Capitoline Wolf stands on the façade of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, a lasting emblem of Rome. From the hill, views stretch over the Roman Forum and the city beyond.