The Capitoline Museums () are a group of art and

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

s in

Piazza del Campidoglio Piazza del Campidoglio ("Capitoline Square") is a public square (piazza) on the top of the ancient Capitoline Hill, between the Roman Forum and the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The square includes three main buildings, the Palazzo Senatorio (Se ...

, on top of the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are

Palazzo dei Conservatori The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

and

Palazzo Nuovo The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. The word ''Capitolium'' first referre ...

, facing on the central trapezoidal

piazza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

in a plan conceived by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

in 1536 and executed over a period of more than 400 years. The Capitoline Museums, known for its exhibitions of works related to the history of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

and the Capitoline Hill, which was the political and religious center of the city, express the greatness of

Roman civilization The history of Rome includes the history of the Rome, city of Rome as well as the Ancient Rome, civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman la ...

and its precious legacy that helped influence modern

Western society Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...

. The museums display works from the

ancient world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

(Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian), the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. They house masterpieces such as the ''

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius (; ) is an ancient Roman art, ancient Roman equestrian statue on the Capitoline Hill, Rome, Italy. It is made of bronze and stands 4.24 m (13.9 ft) tall. Although the emperor is mounted, the sculptur ...

'', the ''

Capitoline Wolf The Capitoline Wolf (Italian language, Italian: ''Lupa Capitolina'') is a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a She-wolf (Roman mythology), she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders ...

'', the ''

Dying Gaul Dying is the final stage of life which will eventually lead to death. Diagnosing dying is a complex process of clinical decision-making, and most practice checklists facilitating this diagnosis are based on cancer diagnoses. Signs of dying ...

'', the Bust of ''

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

'' by

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

, ancient sculptures, paintings (with works by artists such as

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

Velázquez Velázquez, also Velazquez, Velásquez or Velasquez (, ), is a surname from Spain. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Velasco". References to "Velazquez" without a first name are often to the Spanish painter, Diego Velázquez. Notable peo ...

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

), coins, jewelry and archaeological finds. The Capitoline Museum was established in 1471 under the observation of

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

, who donated to the city a collection of important bronzes from the

Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are names for an area of Rome, and the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their p ...

(including the ''Capitoline Wolf'', the '' Boy with Thorn'', the '' Bronze colossus of Constantine'' and the ''Camillus''), which he had placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori and in Piazza del Campidoglio. In 1734

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII (; ; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal ...

purchased the prestigious collection of antiquities of Cardinal

Alessandro Albani Alessandro Albani (15 October 1692 – 11 December 1779) was a Roman Catholic cardinal remembered as a leading collector of antiquities, dealer and art patron in Rome. He supported the art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann and commissioned pa ...

, which was about to be purchased by English collectors, and opened the museum to the public, making it the oldest public museum in the world, the first place in the world that allowed ordinary people to enjoy art.

History

15th century

Il Spinario - Sala dei Trionfi - Palazzo dei Conservatori - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016

The history of the museum can be traced to 1471, when

donated a collection of important ancient bronzes to the people of Rome, until then kept in the

Lateran Palace The Apostolic Palace of the Lateran (; ), informally the Lateran Palace (), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main pope, papal residence in Rome. Located on Saint John's Square in Lateran on the Caelian Hill, the palace is ...

and donated to the Roman people: the ''

'', the ''Camillus'' (statue), the '' Boy with Thorn'' and two fragments of a colossal statue of

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

(the head and a hand holding a globe). As the inscription preserved in the Palazzo dei Conservatori specifies, it is not a donation but a “restitution”: «he judged that these remarkable bronze statues, testimony to the ancient greatness of the Roman people who had them made, had to be returned and donated without reservations» : these works of art had constituted the ''thesaurus Romanitatis'', representing a sort of heritage of the ancient world that the Church had collected and jealously guarded throughout the

. Sixtus IV chose to house the bronzes on the Capitoline Hill, then dominated by the ancient Palazzo Senatorio, also built on the remains of the

Tabularium The Tabularium was the official records office of ancient Rome and housed the offices of many city officials. Situated within the Roman Forum, it was on the front slope of the Capitoline Hill, below the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, to th ...

, home of the Roman archives. The Wolf is placed on the facade of the Palazzo dei Conservatori and becomes the symbol of Rome, replacing the group of the Lion slaughtering a horse, present until then, symbol of the legal functions of the senatorial authority and the only sculpture present on the Capitoline Hill before the donation of Sixtus IV.Comune di Roma, The Capitoline Museums, guide, p. 13. This donation symbolizes the continuity between imperial Rome and the temporal power of the Church, affirming the predominance of papal power on the Capitoline Hill, making this ancient hill the very symbol of the historical memory of Rome, in contrast to the role of driving force of civil autonomy that the Capitoline magistrates later strenuously defended.

16th century

The collection of antiquities was enriched over time by donations from various popes who increased the museum's collections. Between the end of the 15th century and the middle of the 16th century, important ancient sculptures, piled up in front of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, of immense historical and artistic value, flowed into the Campidoglio, confirming the role of the hill as a public museum of antiquities. Thus the gilded

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, found in the

Forum Boarium The Forum Boarium (, ) was the cattle market or '' forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome () ...

at the time of Sixtus IV, quickly joined the original group of bronzes. Purchased by the conservators, it was placed on a high plinth in front of their palace as a "monument to the glory of Rome", before being moved to the courtyard, where it was represented by

Maarten van Heemskerck Maarten van Heemskerck (born Maerten Jacobsz van Veen; 1 June 1498 – 1 October 1574), also known as Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen, was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan ...

(1532-1537), then transferred inside the palace to the apartment of the Conservators. In 1513, two colossal statues of river gods, found in the

Baths of Constantine Baths of Constantine (Latin, ''Thermae Constantinianae'') was a public bathing complex built on Rome's Quirinal Hill, beside the Tiber River, by Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, w ...

(Rome) at the

Quirinale The Quirinal Palace ( ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the main official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outskirts of Rome, som ...

, were placed next to the entrance to the palace: these sculptures from the era of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

were added in 1588-1589, to those that already decorated the monumental staircase leading to the Palazzo Senatorio.Comune di Roma, The Capitoline Museums, guide, p. 14. In 1515, three large high-relief panels depicting scenes from the life of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

were purchased. They belonged to the sculptural decoration of an honorary monument erected to this emperor on the occasion of his triumph in 176 AD. Complete expressions of sculpture with a historical subject in Roman art, they serve to underline the ideal continuity between the

and the

in the Campidoglio. As early as 1523, the Venetian ambassadors defined the Capitoline collections as “the most beautiful and most famous in the world”. In 1541, on the main facade of the courtyard, in a niche overlooking the entrance, a large statue of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

was installed, discovered and donated to the civil magistracy at the time of

Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

. It was used under Sixtus V as a central element of the decoration of the grand staircase of the senatorial palace designed by Michelangelo. Michelangelo, according to the testimony of

Onofrio Panvinio Onofrio Panvinio (; 23 February 1529 – 27 April 1568) was an Italian Augustinian friar, historian and antiquary who was the librarian to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Life and work Panvinio was born in Verona. At the age of eleven, he ...

, contributed himself to the recomposition of the fragments found and to their architectural presentation in the Campidoglio: the

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

, transferred in 1583 from the current room of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, were then recomposed according to the artist's design while undergoing, on this occasion, profound modifications.Comune di Roma, The Capitoline Museums, guide, p. 15. In 1566, Pius V donated a lot of thirty statues from the Palazzo del Belvedere (Vatican), considering it inappropriate for the successor of Peter (apostle) to keep pagan idols in his home. A considerable number of works of art thus arrived at the Campidoglio, where they enriched the "statuario", subsequently transferred to the ground floor of the Palazzo dei Conservatori. Some statues are placed on the former bell tower of Palazzo Senatorio and on the facade of the same building, thus realizing Michelangelo's project, as documented by the engravings of

Étienne Dupérac Étienne Dupérac (or du Pérac) (–March 1604) was a French architect, painter, engraver, and garden designer. In the second half of the century the collections included the two statues of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

and Navarch, the

Capitoline Brutus The Capitoline Brutus is an ancient Roman bronze bust traditionally but probably wrongly thought to be an imagined portrait of the Roman consul Lucius Junius Brutus (d. 509 BC). The bust has long been dated to the late 4th to early 3rd centurie ...

and the

Lex de imperio Vespasiani The ''Lex de imperio Vespasiani'' is an ancient Roman law partially preserved on a bronze tablet. The law was written across two tablets, but only the second survives. The title and preamble of the law are lost. The name by which it is now known i ...

18th century

The museum was opened to the public at the request of Pope Clement XII in 1734, making it the oldest public museum in the world, understood as a place where art could be enjoyed by all and not only by the owners. Capitoline Antinoo - Palazzo Nuovo - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016

Capitoline Antinoo - Palazzo Nuovo - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016

The enrichment of the collections resumed in the 18th century. In 1714 Pope Clement XI (1700–1721) donated to the museum five Egyptian statues found near the Porta Salaria. In 1733, under Pope Clement XII (1730-1740), the museum purchased the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani, including important pieces such as the Satyrs of the Valley, the Juno Cesi and a statue of

Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshippe ...

found in

Hadrian's villa Hadrian's Villa (; ) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large Roman villa, villa complex built around AD 120 by Roman emperor Hadrian near Tivoli, Italy, Tivoli outside Rome. It is the most impos ...

, but also a series of portraits preserved today in the Hall of Emperors and Philosophers. The end of the eighteenth century was not favorable to the museum: the foundation of the Pio-Clementino museum in the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

revived the competition between the municipal and papal collections. This caused an abrupt halt in the growth of the Capitoline archaeological collections: the attention of the pontiff was therefore entirely absorbed by this new museum. In 1797

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

imposed the

Treaty of Tolentino The Treaty of Tolentino was a peace treaty between Revolutionary France and the Papal States, signed on 19 February 1797 and imposing terms of surrender on the Papal side. The signatories for France were the French Directory's Ambassador to the H ...

which provided for the transfer of some of the most famous pieces to the Louvre Museum.

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...

, delegated by the Holy Father for the so-called "recoveries", remedied the Napoleonic spoliations through obstinacy (or more probably the clauses of the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

), reported in 1815 after the fall of Napoleon the '' Boy with Thorn'', the ''

'', the ''

'' and other works. Some, however, such as the ''Sarcophagus of the Muses'', already in the museums of the Campidoglio through the Albani collection, remain in the Louvre.

19th and 20th century

The transfer of the capital of the new

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

to Rome in 1870 and the events of the end of the century marked a fundamental stage in the life and development of the city that led to the transformation and expansion of the museums of the Campidoglio. The collections were reorganized in 1903 by

Rodolfo Lanciani Rodolfo Amedeo Lanciani (1 January 1845 – 22 May 1929) was an Italian archaeologist, a pioneering student of ancient Roman topography. Among his many excavations was that of the House of the Vestals in the Roman Forum. Lanciani earned LL.D. ...

according to more rigorous museographic criteria, further highlighting the archaeological context of the works. The works are distributed in the rooms according to their original context, favoring a more careful reading of the archaeological data rather than an inspirational vision more linked to the aesthetic value of the sculptures as masterpieces of ancient art.

Treaties of Rome of 1957

The Capitoline Museums and in particular the Palazzo dei Conservatori are remembered as the place where the

Treaties of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

were signed, which established the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

, the precursor of today's

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. The six states that were already members of the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...

took part in it, namely

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, Italy,

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, which, after the success of this latter treaty, decided to expand their cooperation agreements to other sectors. To this day, they are among the most important documents in the history of the European Union.

21st century

In 1997, a branch was opened in the former Centrale Montemartini, a former thermoelectric factory in the

Ostiense Ostiense is the 10th of Rome, identified by the initials Q. X. The toponym comes from the original name of the Porta San Paolo, a gate in the city walls of Rome, was , because it was located at the beginning of Via Ostiensis, Via Ostiense. It ...

district, creating an original solution of fusion between industrial and classical archaeology. Its rooms allow in particular to present the grandiose remains of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and the architectural complex of the temple of Apollo Sosianus with a monumental character. In 2005, a new wing of the museum, called the ''Exedra of Marcus Aurelius'', was added. Today, the Capitoline Museums are part of the Civic Museums system of Rome. Finally, at the beginning of the 21st century, the “Grand Capitole” project led to the redevelopment of a large part of the Palazzo dei Conservatori. In 2016, the museum enclosed several of its nude statues in white-colored wooden panels ahead of a meeting between

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian president

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...

and Italian Prime Minister

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

that it hosted. The move was criticized by Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini as "incomprehensible," while the museum said that it had done so following a request from the prime minister's office, although Franceschini said that the government had not been informed of the matter in advance. Rouhani also denied asking Italian officials to cover up the artefacts but expressed his thanks to his hosts for making his visit "as pleasant as possible". In 2024, a complete reconstruction of the

Colossus of Constantine The ''Colossus of Constantine'' () was a many times life-size acrolithic early-4th-century statue depicting the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (''c.'' 280–337), commissioned by himself, which originally occupied the west apse of the Bas ...

in 1:1 scale, designed and executed by Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Preservation, was installed. Thanks to the few but evocative original fragments, preserved in the courtyard of Palazzo dei Conservatori, it was possible to reconstruct the statue in its imposing entirety, at the end of an archaeological, historical and functional analysis of the pieces, supported by the reading of literary and epigraphic sources. The imposing 13-meter-high statue depicting and dedicated to the emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

, considered among the most notable achievements of late-ancient Roman sculpture. It is possible to admire the statue in the gardens of Villa Caffarelli.

Collection

Hall with equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

The Capitoline Collection is the oldest public collection in the world, covering an exhibition area of 12,997m². Among the most famous sculptures kept in the Capitoline Museums is the ''

'', originally located in the center of

and transferred to the museums in 1990, in a specially set up glass room: the ''Exedra of Marcus Aurelius'', which is located where the ''Roman Garden'' used to be, between Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Caffarelli. In the center of the square, in 1996, the statue of Marcus Aurelius was replaced by a copy, perfectly compliant in terms of volumes but not in terms of gilding. There is also the symbol of the city, the bronze

, believed to be an

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

work from the

5th century BC The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. This century saw the establishment of Pataliputra as a capital of the Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha Empire. This city would later become the ruling capital o ...

; the original statue did not include the twins

Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...

, added in the 15th century and attributed to the sculptor

Antonio del Pollaiolo Antonio del Pollaiuolo ( , , ; 17 January 1429/14334 February 1498), also known as Antonio di Jacopo Pollaiuolo or Antonio Pollaiuolo (also spelled Pollaiolo), was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, engraver, and goldsmith, who made i ...

. ''Rome and Vatican City: churches, palaces, museums, squares, archaeology'', Touring Editore, 2002
p. 110
ISBN 9788836526239. Recently some restorers have hypothesized that the statue is not ancient, but medieval and that it dates back to the 12th century. The ''

'', visible in the courtyard, dates back to the 4th century. Other masterpieces of bronze sculpture are the '' Hercules of the Forum Boarium'' and the '' Boy with Thorn''. A masterpiece of medieval sculpture is the ''Portrait of

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...

'' by

Arnolfo di Cambio Arnolfo di Cambio ( – 1300/1310) was an Italian architect and sculptor of the Duecento, who began as a lead assistant to Nicola Pisano. He is documented as being ''capomaestro'' or Head of Works for Florence Cathedral in 1300, and designed th ...

(

1277 Year 1277 ( MCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 19 – Byzantine–Venetian Treaty: Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos concludes an agreement with the Re ...

), the first lifelike portrait of a living character sculpted in Europe that has reached us from the post-classical era. Over time, other and numerous historical collections were exhibited here, such as the '' Protomoteca'' (collection of busts and herms of illustrious men transferred from the Pantheon to the Campidoglio by order of

Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

in 1820); the collection of Cardinal

; the one donated by Augusto Castellani in the second half of the 19th century, consisting of archaic ceramic materials (from the 8th century BC to the 4th century BC), mainly of Etruscan area, but also of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and Italic production. The connection between the two museum locations, the Palazzo Nuovo and the Palazzo dei Conservatori, is guaranteed by the underground Galleria di conaccordo specially excavated in the 1930s and later used as a Galleria lapidaria, from which it is also possible to access the

temple of Veiovis The Temple of Veiovis in ancient Rome was the temple of the god Veiovis, built sometime in the early 1st century BC. In literature The temple was sited in the saddle of ground "inter duos lucos", between two sacred groves, one on the Arx and o ...

and the gallery of the ''

''. On the second floor of the Palazzo dei Conservatori is the Pinacoteca Capitolina, which houses works by

and

Location and palaces

The Capitoline Museums are located on the

, one of the

seven hills of Rome The seven hills of Rome (, ) east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the city. Hills The seven hills are: * Aventine Hill (Latin: ''Collis Aventinus''; Italian: ''Aventino'') * Caelian Hill (''Coll ...

, adjacent to the nearby

Piazza Venezia Piazza Venezia (; "Venice Square") is a central hub of Rome, Italy, in which several thoroughfares intersect, including the Via dei Fori Imperiali and the Via del Corso. It takes its name from the Palazzo Venezia, built by the Venetian Cardinal, ...

, the

Victor Emmanuel II Monument The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (), also known as the Vittoriano or for synecdoche Altare della Patria ("Altar of the Fatherland"), is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king ...

, the

Imperial fora The Imperial Fora (''Fori Imperiali '' in Italian) are a series of monumental '' fora'' (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The fora were the center of the Roman Republic and ...

, in the heart of the city. The Piazza del Campidoglio which houses the museum is a monumental square located on the top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, it stands on the

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

- the depression located between the Arx and the

Capitolium A ''Capitolium'' (Latin) was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. A ''capitolium'' was built on a prominent area in many cities in Italy and the Roman provinces, particularly during the ...

, the two summits of the Capitoline Hill - and below it is the Tabularium, visible from the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

. Important works were carried out during the pontificate of

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

, but the square took on its current appearance in the 16th century, when

commissioned

Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspi ...

to completely remodel it on the occasion of the visit to Rome of

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

. The project included the renovation of the facades of the

Palazzo Senatorio The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. The word ''Capitolium'' first refer ...

, built a few years earlier on the ruins of the Tabularium, and of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, the construction of the Palazzo Nuovo and the addition of several sculptures and statues, including that of

, placed in the center of the square, and those depicting the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...

and the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

. Despite initial abandonment in the early Middle Ages, the Tabularium had already been chosen as the seat of the Municipality of Rome in the 12th century. The three main

buildings of the Capitoline Museums are: *

, built in the 12th century and modified according to Michelangelo's designs; *

, built in the mid-16th century and redesigned by Michelangelo with the first use of the

giant order In classical architecture, a giant order, also known as colossal order, is an order whose columns or pilasters span two (or more) storeys. At the same time, smaller orders may feature in arcades or window and door framings within the storeys that ...

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

design; and *

, built in the 17th century with an identical exterior design to the Palazzo dei Conservatori, which it faces across the piazza. In addition, the 16th century Palazzo Caffarelli-Clementino, located off the piazza adjacent to the Palazzo dei Conservatori, was added to the museum complex in the early 20th century.

Palazzo dei Conservatori

The Palazzo dei Conservatori is located in Piazza del Campidoglio to the right of the

and opposite the Palazzo Nuovo. The Palazzo dei Conservatori owes its name to the fact that it was the seat of the city's elected magistracy, the

Conservators In certain areas of England, conservators are statutory bodies which manage areas of countryside for the use of the public. Establishment, role and powers Conservators are bodies corporate generally established, and granted their powers, by a ...

, who together with the Senator administered Rome in the Middle-Age. The Palace in this position was erected by

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a Cardinal (Catholic Chu ...

, who had been commissioned to carry out the overall redevelopment of the square, designed the new façade, which he did not, however, see completed as he died during the works (in 1564). His project redesigned the medieval façade of the palace, replacing the portico with two orders: the Corinthian one formed by high pilasters placed on large full-height pedestals, and the Ionic one that supports the vaults of the portico. Between these orders were placed a series of large windows, all of the same size. The works were continued by Guido Guidetti and completed in 1568 by

Giacomo Della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1533–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Most likely born in Genoa or Porlezza, Italy, his work was inspired by famous Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. He started in his car ...

who followed Michelangelo's designs almost faithfully, deviating from them only to build a larger reception room on the first floor and, consequently, a larger window than all the others on the facade of the palace. There were also transformations inside the palace, both for the construction of a large monumental staircase and for the new redistribution of the rooms of the "Apartment of the Conservators", which led to the destruction of the cycle of frescoes from the early sixteenth century that decorated the rooms overlooking Piazza del Campidoglio.

Courtyard and main staircase

The courtyard and main staircase (ground floor); the Courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori has always represented, since the beginning, a point of attraction for the conservation of the memory of the ancient: the works that flowed into the palace represented that cultural continuity inherited from the ancient world, almost as if they represented a bridge in the virtual connection with a glorious past. The main works include the ''

''; the reliefs depicting the personifications of the

Roman provinces The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as gover ...

from the

Temple of Hadrian The Temple of Hadrian (Templum Divus Hadrianus, also Hadrianeum) is an ancient Roman structure on the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the deified emperor Hadrian by his adoptive son and successor Antoninus Pius in 145 CE This templ ...

in Piazza di Pietra; two colossal statues of Dacians in grey-brown marble (from

Trajan's Forum Trajan's Forum (; ) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the emperor Trajan with the spoils of war f ...

), purchased by

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

in 1720 from the Cesi collection and placed at the sides; a statue of the goddess

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

seated, modelled on the Greek statues of

Phidias Phidias or Pheidias (; , ''Pheidias''; ) was an Ancient Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, active in the 5th century BC. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the statues of ...

, which probably belonged to a 1st-century arch. In the shelves of the staircase that leads from the courtyard to the upper floors are inserted some reliefs from Roman antiquity. Three of them were part of a triumphal arch dedicated to

and arrived in the Campidoglio since 1515, three others dedicated to the

emperor Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

welcomed by three personifications (goddess Roma, Senate and Roman People), comes from a discovery in Piazza Sciarra and was purchased by the Conservatori in 1573.

Piano nobile

From the staircase, one enters, from the front, the Conservatori Apartment, composed of 9 rooms. This "apartment" was closely linked to the function performed by the Conservatori who, together with the Prior of the Caporioni, represented the three ''Roman Magistrates'' starting from 1305. The 9 rooms are divided into: Galerias10b

* I - Hall of the Horatii and Curiatii; the Public Council met in the large hall after Michelangelo's renovation. Even today it is often used for important ceremonies, such as the signing of the

in 1957, which established the

. *II - Hall of the Captains; frescoed by the Sicilian painter

Tommaso Laureti Tommaso Laureti, often called Tommaso Laureti Siciliano ( 1530 – 22 September 1602), was an Italian painter from Sicily who trained in the atelier of the aged Sebastiano del Piombo and worked in Bologna. From 1582, he worked for papal patrons i ...

between 1586 and 1594 in a style attributable to

Giulio Romano Giulio Pippi ( – 1 November 1546), known as Giulio Romano and Jules Romain ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the ...

and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

. *III - Hall of Hannibal; it houses a collection of frescoes belonging to the cycle of the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian Empire during the period 264 to 146BC. Three such wars took place, involving a total of forty-three years of warfare on both land and ...

. *IV - Chapel; dedicated to the Madonna and the saints

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

patrons of the city, it was frescoed in the years 1575-1578 by the painters Michele Alberti and Iacopo Rocchetti. *V - Hall of Tapestries; intended in 1770 to house the papal canopy. The

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

were made by the Pontifical Factory of San Michele a Ripa. *VI - Hall of Triumphs; houses some famous bronzes from the Roman era: the Spinario, the ''Camillus'' (donated by

in 1471), the so-called ''portrait of

Lucius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus (died ) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic and traditionally one of its two first consuls. Depicted as responsible for the expulsion of his uncle, the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after the suicide of L ...

'' (donated by Cardinal Rodolfo Pio in

1564 Year 1564 ( MDLXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 26 – Livonian War – Battle of Ula: A Lithuanian surprise attack results in a decisive defeat of the numer ...

), commonly called ''

'', and a bronze crater of

Mithridates VI Eupator Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and ...

. *VIII - Hall of the Geese; houses the head of

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

, which represents Costanza Piccolomini Bonarelli, an eighteenth-century portrait of

and a whole series of small bronze works that had been purchased by

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII (; ; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco (or Pierfrancesco) Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in ...

. *IX - Hall of the Eagles *X, XI and XII - Castellani Rooms; these three rooms display objects from donations by Augusto Castellani from 1867 ("collection of Estruscan vases") and 1876 (large collection of ancient objects). *XIII and XIV - Halls of Modern Fasti These halls house the Modern Fasti, marble tables engraved with the names of the city's civic magistrates (''senatores'') from 1640 to 1870. Commodo vestito da Ercole ai Musei Capitolini

Commodo vestito da Ercole ai Musei Capitolini

*XV, XVI, XVII and XVIII - Halls of the Horti Lamiani here are collected materials from excavations in the Esquilino area, between Piazza Vittorio Emenuele II and Piazza Dante. Among these, part of an alabaster floor and fragments of the architectural decoration in

opus sectile ''Opus sectile'' is a form of '' pietra dura'' popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and gla ...

of a

cryptoporticus In Ancient Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural styl ...

, the '' Esquiline Venus'' and the ''

Commodus as Hercules ''Commodus as Hercules'', also known as ''The Bust of Commodus as Hercules'', is a marble portrait sculpture created sometime in early 192 AD.Speidel, M. P.. "Commodus the God-emperor and the Army". ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' 83 (1993): 109� ...

''. *XIX and XX - Halls of the Horti Tauriani and Vettiani *XXI, XXII and XXIII - Halls of the Gardens of Maecenas Here are exhibited among other things the

Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; ) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe (''aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged Apollo to a contest of ...

being tortured and the so-called ''Head of Amazon'', Rhyton of Pontios (neo-Attic fountain from the ''Horti Maecenatis''. *XXIV - Gallery of the Horti; hare exhibited two large ornamental craters and the portraits of

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

Vibia Sabina Vibia Sabina (83–136/137) was a Roman Empress, wife and second cousin once removed to the Roman Emperor Hadrian. She was the daughter of Salonia Matidia, Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan) and suffect consul Lucius Vibius Sabinus. Early ...

and Matidia from the Horti Tauriani. *XXV - Exedra of Marcus Aurelius; the new wing, which with a glass hall expands the exhibition space of the Museums, was inaugurated in December 2005; the project also included a new arrangement of the nearby foundations of the temple of

Capitoline Jupiter The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, also known as the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus (; ; ), was the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline Hill. It was surrounded by the ''Area Capitolina'', a precinct where numer ...

. The main pieces now permanently exhibited in the exedra are the original

, put indoors after the restoration at the end of the 20th century, the gilded bronze

from the

, the fragments of the colossal bronze statue of Constantine belonging to the initial donation of Sixtus IV (together with the

, which on special occasions is moved from its hall and exhibited in the exedra). *XXVI - Area of the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter The exhibition space presents finds from the archaic temples of the 6th century before the common era, excavated in the mid-20th century in the

Sant'Omobono Area The Sant'Omobono Area (Italian: ''Area di Sant'Omobono'') is an archaeological site in Rome next to the church of Sant'Omobono, at the junction of via L. Petroselli and the Vico Jugario at the foot of the Campidoglio. It was discovered in 1937 a ...

, and a section that illustrates the results of the most recent excavations carried out in the lower layers of this area of the Capitoline Hill, which document its occupation starting from the 10th century BC.

Pinacoteca Capitolina

The Pinacoteca Capitolina (Capitoline Art Gallery), originally from the collection of the Sacchetti marquises and the Principi Pio di Savoia. family, is part of the Capitoline Museums complex, housed on the

Campidoglio The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. The word ''Capitolium'' first referre ...

in the

and in the

. The credit for the creation of the Art Gallery must be shared between the pontiff

Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

and his secretary of state, Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga, one of the main patrons and collectors of eighteenth-century Rome. In 1748, over 180 paintings were purchased from the Sacchetti family, owners of one of the most important Roman collections, the Sacchetti collection, formed during the seventeenth century by Marcello Sacchetti and his brother, Cardinal Giulio. Over time, the Pinacoteca's collection has increased significantly thanks to the arrival of numerous paintings, which arrived in the

through purchases, bequests and donations. With the Cini donation of 1880, numerous decorative art objects entered the collection, including a notable collection of porcelain. Administered, in the first hundred years of its life, by the pontifical structures of the Camerlengato and the Sacred Apostolic Palaces, the Capitoline Art Gallery has been under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Rome since 1847. The collection contains paintings by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci ( , , ; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother Agostino Carracci, Agostino and cousin Ludovico Carracci, Ludovico (with whom the Ca ...

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoe ...

Giovanni Lanfranco Giovanni Lanfranco (26 January 1582 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian Baroque painter. Biography Giovanni Gaspare Lanfranco was born in Parma, the third son of Stefano and Cornelia Lanfranchi, and was placed as a page in the household of Coun ...

Dosso Dossi Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi ( 1489–1542) was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and early Tit ...

and Garofalo.

Main works

;

* '' The Burial of St. Petronilla'', 1623 ;

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fin ...

* '' The Fortune Teller'', 1593-1595 * ''

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

'', 1602 ;

* ''

'', 1615-1616 ;

* ''

Baptism of Christ The baptism of Jesus, the ritual purification of Jesus with water by John the Baptist, was a major event described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament ( Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghta ...

'', ca. 1512 ;

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

* ''Portrait of Juan de Córdoba'', 1630

Palazzo Nuovo

The palace was built only in the 17th century, probably in two phases, under the direction of

Girolamo Rainaldi Girolamo Rainaldi (4 May 1570 – 15 July 1655) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in a conservative Mannerist style, often with collaborating architects. He was a successful competitor of Bernini. His son, Carlo Rainaldi, became an even ...

and then of his son

Carlo Rainaldi Carlo Rainaldi (4 May 1611 – 8 February 1691) was an Italian architect of the Baroque period. Biography Born in Rome, Rainaldi was one of the leading architects of 17th-century Rome, known for a certain grandeur in his designs. He worked at f ...

who completed it in 1663. However, the project, at least of the façade, must be attributed to

. Built in front of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, it was used as a museum since the 19th century; numerous finds from

Hadrian's Villa Hadrian's Villa (; ) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large Roman villa, villa complex built around AD 120 by Roman emperor Hadrian near Tivoli, Italy, Tivoli outside Rome. It is the most impos ...

to Tivoli.

Atrium and courtyard

The internal space on the ground floor hosts a portico with large statues (such as that of Minerva or

Faustina the Elder Annia Galeria Faustina the Elder, sometimes referred to as Faustina I or Faustina Major ( 100 – late October 140), was a Roman empress and wife of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. The emperor Marcus Aurelius was her nephew and later became he ...

- Ceres), which once belonged to the Vatican Belvedere Collection and were later donated to the city of Rome. In the middle of the atrium is the courtyard, where the fountain is located, surmounted by the statue known as the

Marforio Marphurius or Marforio (; Medieval , ) is one of the talking statues of Rome. Marforio maintained a friendly rivalry with his most prominent rival, Pasquin. As at the other five "talking statues", pasquinades—irreverent satires poking fun at ...

, so called following its discovery in the sixteenth century, in the Forum of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

(''Martis Forum'', a name that the ancients attributed to the

Forum of Augustus The Forum of Augustus (; ) is one of the Imperial fora of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus (). It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated in 2 BC, 40 years after they were first vowed. History The ...

). Two statues of Satyrs carrying a basket of fruit on their heads: they are two mirror-image statues depicting the god Pan, probably used as

telamons In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: wikt:Τελαμών, Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a Oread, mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside ...

in the architectural structure of the

theatre of Pompey The Theatre of Pompey (, ), also known by other names, was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great. Completed in 55 BC, it was the first permanent theatre to be built in Rome ...

. Also on display is a colossal statue of

, found in the 16th century in the

Forum of Nerva Forum of Nerva (; ) is an ancient structure in Rome, Italy, chronologically the next to the last of the Imperial fora built. Forum of Nerva (Forum Transitorium) The Imperial fora within the city of Rome have, in recent decades, become again a ...

. There is also a group featuring

Polyphemus Polyphemus (; , ; ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and legends", "many-voiced" or "very famous". Polyphemus first ap ...

, who holds a young prisoner at his feet.

Hall of Egyptian Monuments

During the pontificate of

Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

, a series of statues found in the area of the Villa Verospi Vitelleschi ('' Horti Sallustiani'') were acquired, which decorated the Egyptian pavilion built by the emperor

. There were four statues, which were placed in the Palazzo Nuovo. Later, however (from 1838), almost all the Egyptian sculptures were transferred to the Vatican. Today, the Hall of Egyptian Monuments is accessed through the courtyard; behind a large glass wall are the large granite works. Among the most representative works are a large bell-shaped krater from Hadrian's Villa and a series of animals symbolizing the most important Egyptian deities: the crocodile, two cynocephali, a sparrowhawk, a sphinx, a scarab, etc.

Ground floor rooms on the right

The name "ground floor rooms" identifies the three rooms on the ground floor to the right of the atrium, which houses works including fragments of "post-Caesarian"

Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. Although the term is primarily used for Rome's pre-Julian calendars, it is often used inclusively of the Julian calendar established by Julius Caesar in 46&nbs ...

s showing the new year, which

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

defined as 365 days, as well as lists of magistrates called "Fasti Minori", in relation to the more famous "

Fasti consulares In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...

", preserved in the

. The first room contains numerous portraits of Roman private individuals, among which one stands out, perhaps that of Germanicus Julius Caesar or his father

Drusus the Elder Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (38–9 BC), commonly known in English as Drusus the Elder, was a Roman general and politician. He was a patrician Claudian but his mother was from a plebeian family. He was the son of Livia Drusilla and the step ...

; the cinerary urn of T. Statilius Aper and Orcivia Anthis; the Sarcophagus with reliefs depicting an episode from the life of Achilles.

Gallery of the Palazzo Nuovo

Italie Rome Musee Capitole Palazzo Nuovo Galerie 20042008 - panoramio

The Gallery, which runs longitudinally along the first floor of the Capitoline Museum, connecting the various rooms and offering visitors a large and varied collection of statues, portraits, reliefs and epigraphs arranged by the eighteenth-century ''Conservatories''. Numerous statues are preserved in the Gallery, such as that of Hercules, restored as Hercules Killing the Hydra (marble, a Roman copy of a Greek original from the 4th century BC, found during the renovation of the

church of Sant'Agnese in Agone Sant'Agnese in Agone (also called Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona) is a 17th-century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christi ...

and restored in 1635); the fragment of the leg of Hercules fighting the Hydra (heavily reworked in the seventeenth-century restoration); the statue of a wounded warrior, also called the Capitoline Discobolus (of which only the torso is ancient, perhaps a copy of the ''

Discobolus The ''Discobolus'' by Myron (" discus thrower", , ''Diskobólos'') is an ancient Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical period in around 460–450 BC that depicts an ancient Greek athlete throwing a discus. Though the origin ...

'' by Miron, while the rest is the work of the restoration carried out between 1658 and 1733 by

Pierre-Étienne Monnot Pierre-Étienne Monnot (9 August 1657 – 24 August 1733) was a French sculptor from the Franche-Comté who settled in Rome in 1687 for the rest of his life. He was a distinguished artist working in a late-Baroque idiom for international clients. ...

perhaps on the model of the statues of Pergamon known as the "little barbarians"); the statue of Leda with the swan (perhaps a Roman copy of the 4th century BC group attributed to

Timotheus Timotheus is a masculine given name. It is a latinized version of the Greek name (Timόtheos) meaning "one who honours God", from τιμή "honour" and θεός "god"., . The English version ''Timothy'' (and its variations) is a common name in s ...

); statue of a young Hercules strangling the serpent (ca. 150-200, from the collection of Cardinal

), in which recently it has been suggested that a young

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

or even

Marcus Annius Verus Caesar Marcus Annius Verus Caesar (162 or 163 – 10 September 169) was a son of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Empress Faustina the Younger. Annius was made caesar on 12 October 166 AD, alongside his brother Commodus, designating them co-heirs of t ...

; ''Eros with the bow'' (Roman copy of

Lysippos Lysippos (; ) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenistic period. Problems confron ...

, from Tivoli); statue of a Old Drunkard, marble sculpture dating back to around 300-280 BC and known from Roman copies, the best of which are the one in the

Glyptothek The Glyptothek () is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig I to house his collection of Ancient Greek art, Greek and Roman art, Roman sculptures (hence γλυπτο- ''glypto-'' "sculp ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(h 92 cm) and the one in the Capitoline Museum.

Hall of Doves

The room takes its name from the famous floor mosaic: the mosaic of the doves, found at Hadrian's Villa and attributed to a Greek mosaicist named

Sosus of Pergamon Sosus of Pergamon () was a Greek mosaic artist of the second century BC. He is the only mosaic artist whose name was recorded in literature. After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Greeks of major centers such as Pergamon and Alexandria d ...

. The works contained here belonged mostly to the collection of Cardinal

, whose acquisition is at the origin of the Capitoline Museum. The arrangement of the male and female portraits (including a portrait of the emperor

and a male portrait from the Republican era), along shelves that run along the entire perimeter of the wall of the room, dates back to an eighteenth-century layout project and is still visible, albeit with some imperceptible changes. An arrangement that has never been altered is that of the Roman sepulchral inscriptions affixed, in the mid-eighteenth century, to the upper part of the walls. Inside the room we remember: * The ''bronze tablet'' (3rd century) with which the ''College of the Fabri of

Sentinum Sentinum was a Roman town now located about a kilometre south of the present-day town of Sassoferrato in the Marche region of Italy. Two areas of the town, the forum/urban baths and the suburban baths, can be visited today protected as an ...

'' assigned to Coretius Fuscus the honorary title of patron; * The

tabula iliaca The ''Tabulae Iliacae'' ("Iliadic tables", "Iliac tables" or "Iliac tablets"; singular ''Tabula Iliaca'') are a collection of 22 stone plaques ('' pinakes''), mostly of marble, with reliefs depicting scenes from Greek epic poetry, especially of t ...

(1st century); * A bronze inscription from the Aventine containing a dedication to

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

and the imperial family, placed in 203 by the ''

vigiles ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the Rome, City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("Cohort (military unit), cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''triumviri, triumviri ...

'' of the ''IV

cohort Cohort or cohortes may refer to: Cohort Sociological * Cohort (military unit), the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion * Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum Scientific * Cohort ...

'' of that '' regio''; * The decree of

Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo ( – 87 BC) was a Roman general and politician, who served as consul in 89 BC. He is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo, to distinguish him from his son, the famous Pompey the Great, or from Strabo the geograp ...

(the so-called Bronze of Ascoli), which granted special privileges to some Spanish knights who had fought on behalf of the Romans in the

Battle of Asculum The Battle of Asculum was a poorly documented battle that took place near Asculum (modern Ascoli Satriano) in 279 BC, and was thought to have lasted either one or two days, between the Roman Republic under the command of the consuls Publius D ...

(89 BC); * The oldest surviving bronze decree of the Senate, almost entirely preserved: the ''

Senatus consultum A (Latin: decree of the senate, plural: ) is a text emanating from the senate in Ancient Rome. It is used in the modern phrase '' senatus consultum ultimum''. Translated into French as , the term was also used during the French Consulate, the ...

'' concerning Asclepiades of

Clazomenae Klazomenai () or Clazomenae was one of the 12 cities of ancient Ionia (the others being Chios, Samos, Phocaea, Erythrae, Teos, Lebedus, Colophon, Ephesus, Priene, Myus, and Miletus). It is located at the south coast of Smyrna Gulf, Ion ...

and his allies (78 BC), which attributed the title of ''friends of the Roman People'' to three Greek navarchs who had fought alongside the Romans in the Social War (91-88 BC) or perhaps in the

Sulla's civil war Sulla's civil war was fought between the Roman general Sulla and his opponents, the Cinna-Marius faction (usually called the Marians or the Cinnans after their former leaders Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna), in the years 83–82 BC. ...

(83-82 BC). The text is written in Latin with a Greek translation, which remained in the lower part of the panel, which allowed the integration of the mutilated writing. * In addition to the "mosaic of the doves", the room also features the famous "mosaic of the scenic masks". * Placed in the center, the statue of a girl with a dove (marble, Roman copy of a Hellenistic original from the 2nd century BC), a figurative motif that finds a possible antecedent in the reliefs of the Greek funerary

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

of the 5th and

4th century BC The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. It is considered part of the Classical antiquity, Classical era, Epoch (reference date), epoch, or historical period. This century marked the height of Classi ...

Cabinet of Venus

Capitoline Venus - Palazzo Nuovo - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016

This small polygonal room, similar to a

nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

, frames the statue called Capitoline Venus, found during the pontificate of Clement X (1670-1676) at the

basilica of San Vitale The Basilica of San Vitale is a late antique church in Ravenna, Italy. The sixth-century church is an important surviving example of early Byzantine art and architecture, and its mosaics in particular are some of the most-studied works in Byzan ...

; according to

Pietro Santi Bartoli Pietro Santi Bartoli (also ''Sante'' or ''Santo''; 1635 – 7 November 1700) was an Italian engraver, draughtsman, painter and antiquary. Life and career Bartoli was born at Perugia. He moved to Rome in 1635 as a youth, there he studi ...

the statue was located inside some ancient rooms together with other sculptures.

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

bought the statue from the Stazi family in 1752 and donated it to the Capitoline Museum. After being taken to Paris in 1797, following the

, it was returned to the Capitoline Museum in 1816. The Venus has slightly larger dimensions than life (h. 193 cm) and is made of a precious marble (probably

Parian marble Parian marble is a fine-grained, semi translucent, and pure-white marble quarried during the classical antiquity, classical era on the Greece, Greek List of islands of Greece, island of Paros in the Aegean Sea. A subtype, referred to as Parian ' ...

); the statue is an example of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

pudica, represented emerging from the bath while covering her pubis and breasts. The sculpture, which is today one of the most famous in the museum, appears in all its beauty inside this 19th century room that opens onto the gallery, in an evocative and ethereal setting.

Hall of the Emperors

Flavia Iulia Helena - Musei Capitolini - antmoose

The Hall of the Emperors is one of the oldest rooms in the Capitoline Museum. Since the exhibition areas opened to the public in 1734, the curators wanted to arrange, collected in a single room, the portraits of the Roman emperors and the people of their circle. The current layout is the result of various reworkings carried out over the last century. The room houses 67 portrait busts, a seated female statue (in the center), 8 reliefs and a modern honorary epigraph. The portraits are arranged on two levels of marble shelves; the tour route unfolds in a helical fashion and clockwise, starting from the upper shelf entering on the left, to end at the end of the lower shelf on the right. The visitor can thus chronologically follow the evolution of

Roman portraiture Roman portraiture was one of the most significant periods in the development of portrait art. The surviving portraits of individuals are almost entirely sculptures, covering a period of almost five centuries. Roman portraiture is characterised b ...

from the Republican Age to the

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

, and appreciate the evolution in the different hairstyles and beards). In the center of the room is the statue of

Flavia Julia Helena Flavia Julia Helena (; , ''Helénē''; – 330), also known as Helena of Constantinople and in Christianity as Saint Helena, was an '' Augusta'' of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. She was born in the lower ...

, '' augusta'' of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

(or perhaps wife) of the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as Caesar (title), ''caesar'' ...

, as well as mother of the emperor

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

. Catholics venerate her as Saint Helena the Empress. Among the most remarkable portraits are those of Augustus as a young man with a laurel wreath and Augustus as an adult of the "Azio type", of Nero, of the emperors of the

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty, lasting from 69 to 96 CE, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Th ...

(Vespasian, Titus and Domitian) and of the

Five Good Emperors 5 (five) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 Digit (anatomy), digits ...

(

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

as a young man and as an adult,

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (; 15 December 130 – 23 January 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with Ma ...

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

as a young man and as an adult). The

Severan dynasty The Severan dynasty, sometimes called the Septimian dynasty, ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. It was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus () and Julia Domna, his wife, when Septimius emerged victorious from civil war of 193 - 197, ...

is also well represented with portraits of

Geta Geta may refer to: Places *Geta (woreda), a woreda in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region *Geta, Åland, a municipality in Finland *Geta, Nepal, a town in Attariya Municipality, Kailali District, Seti Zone, Nepal *Get� ...

as well as those of Heliogabalus,

Maximinus Thrax Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" () was a Roman emperor from 235 to 238. Born of Thracian origin – given the nickname ''Thrax'' ("the Thracian") – he rose up through the military ranks, ultimately holding high command in the army of th ...

Trajan Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops ...

Marcus Aurelius Probus Marcus Aurelius Probus (; 230–235 – September 282) was Roman emperor from 276 to 282. Probus was an active and successful general as well as a conscientious administrator, and in his reign of six years he secured prosperity for the inner p ...

and

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

. The series ends with

Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...

, son of

Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name. Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium ...

Hall of the Philosophers

As in the case of the "Hall of the Emperors", the Hall of the Philosophers was also born, at the time of the foundation of the

Capitoline Museum The Capitoline Museums () are a group of art and archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, facing on the centr ...

, from the desire to collect portraits, busts and herms, of poets, philosophers and rhetoricians of antiquity. The hall contains 79 of them. The itinerary begins with the most famous poet of antiquity,

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, represented as an old man with a beard, flowing hair and a dull look, indicative of blindness. Next comes

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

, another famous Greek poet,

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

, with his turban on his head, and

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

with a fleshy nose similar to that of a

Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; , ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which case he may be referred to as a Pa ...

. The great Athenian tragedians are also present:

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

and

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

. Among the many characters of the Greek world, some portraits from the Roman era are also exhibited; among these

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, the famous statesman and man of letters, depicted as a little over fifty years old in the prime of his intellectual and political faculties.

Hall

The Hall of Palazzo Nuovo is the most monumental space in the entire Capitoline museum complex. The large portal that opens into the long wall communicating with the Gallery, designed by Filippo Barigioni in the first half of the eighteenth century, is arched, with two winged Victories of fine workmanship. At the sides and in the center of the hall, on high and ancient bases, are the large bronze statues, among which the sculptures in gray marble of the '' Old Centaur'' and the '' Young Centaur'' (found in

and purchased by

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII (; ; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758. ...

for the Capitoline collection in 1765) stand out. All around, on a second level, there are shelves with a series of busts (such as one of Trajan, a copy from the sixteenth century). There are also some statues of Roman emperors such as the

in military dress (dating back to 161-180, from the Albani collection), the

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

holding the world in his hand (with a body copied from the Diadumenos by Polykleitos, Polycletus) and the

-Mars (from the Albani collection). The Gallery also houses numerous other statues: Asclepius (in grey-brown marble, a 2nd-century copy of an early Hellenistic original; Albani collection); an Apollo of the Omphalos (from a Greek version of 470-460 BC by the sculptor Calamis (5th century BC), Calamis; Albani collection); a Hermes (a Roman marble copy of Lysippos, from Hadrian's Villa); a statue of Pothos, restored as Apollo Citharoidus (''Kitharoidos'', a Roman copy after a Greek original by Skopas); Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Minor (the parents of the emperor

, revisited as

and Venus (deity), Venus and datable to about 187-189); a young satyr (2nd-century copy after a late Hellenistic original; Albani collection); a "hunter with hare" (dating to the time of Gallienus; found in 1747 near Porta Latina); Harpocrates, son of Isis and Osiris (found in the Pecile of Hadrian's Villa and donated to the Capitoline collection by

in 1744);

''promachos'' (copy of a prototype from the

attributed to Plicleto Albani collection); and many others.

Hall of the Faun

Faun from Villa Adriana - Palazzo Nuovo - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016

The room takes its name from the sculpture that has been in the center of the room since 1817, the Red Faun from Hadrian's Villa. The statue of the Faun was found in 1736 and restored by Clemente Bianchi and Bartolomeo Cavaceppi. It was purchased by the museum in 1746 and very quickly became one of the most appreciated works by visitors of that century. Among the epigraphic texts, the ''

'' from the 1st century is important (a decree that confers particular power to the emperor Vespasian).

Hall of the Galatian

This Hall takes its name from the central sculpture, the "

", a 3rd-century Roman copy of the 3rd-century BC Greek bronze original, part of the Donarium of Attalus, a triumphal monument on the acropolis of Pergamon commissioned by Attalus I to celebrate his victory over the Galatians (people), Galatians. Purchased in 1734 by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi by Alessandro Gregorio Capponi, president of the Capitoline Museum, it was mistakenly believed to portray a gladiator in the act of falling on his shield and became perhaps the most famous work in the collections, replicated several times in engravings and drawings. The Gaul is surrounded by other Roman copies of Greek originals of notable quality: the Wounded Amazon, the statue of Hermes-

(purchased by Cardinal Albani from

around 1734, from Hadrian's Villa), and the Satyr at Rest (from an original by Praxiteles of the 4th century BC, donated by

to the Capitoline Museums in 1753), while against the window, the delightful rococo group of Cupid and Psyche symbolises the tender union of the human soul with divine love, according to a theme dating back to Platonic philosophy which enjoyed great success in artistic production since early Hellenism. Then there are the busts of the Assassination of Julius Caesar, caesaricide Marcus Junius Brutus and the Macedonian leader Alexander the Great (marble, Roman copy of a Hellenistic original made between the 3rd and 2nd century BC approximately). The ''Wounded Amazon'' (from an original of the 5th century BC, from Villa d'Este (Tivoli), Villa d'Este in Tivoli, within the perimeter of Hadrian's Villa) is also called the "Sosikles type", from the signature on this replica. Generally attributed to Polykleitos, Polycletus (or to

), it has slightly larger dimensions than life. The raised arm is the result of a restoration, perhaps originally brandishing a spear on which the figure was leaning. The head is turned to the right, the left arm instead raises the drapery showing the wound. It was donated by Benedict XIV to the Capitoline Museums in 1753.

The Galleria Lapidaria and the Tabularium

The Tabularium building was intended to house the public archive of the State: the most important public documents of ancient Rome, from the decrees of the Roman Senate to the Peace Treaty, peace treaties. These documents were engraved on bronze “tabulae” (hence the name “tabularium” for any archive in the Roman world). The name of the Capitoline Hill, however, derives from an inscription, preserved in the building in the

, which mentions an archive: it could be one or more rooms, not necessarily a so-called "State archive" which occupied the entire complex. The archives of the state administration, among others, were scattered in various buildings of the city. Currently the ''Tabularium'' is part of the Capitoline Museum complex and is accessible from the Galleria Lapidaria that connects Palazzo Nuovo to Palazzo dei Conservatori. The 73.60m long base, with walls in Volcanic Tuff from the Aniene and blocks of Peperite, supports the current Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the municipality of Rome. At first it was possible to access the Tabularium from the Forum via a staircase of , still well preserved, but at the time of

with the construction of the Temple of Vespasian the entrance to the forum was blocked. The Galleria Lapidaria is an underground gallery, excavated in the 1930s under the Piazza del Campidoglio to connect the Capitoline buildings. On both sides of the gallery are exhibited from the Greco-Roman, Greco-Roman civilization period. Among the numerous inscriptions, that of the ex-voto to the goddess Celestis for a good journey (3rd century) is preserved. The text of the dedication reads: "''A Caelestis victoriosa Iovinus fulfilled his vow''". In the underground, at the end of the Galleria Lapidaria, there are also the Tabularium and the remains of the temple of Veiovis.

Villa Caffarelli

The sixteenth-century Palazzo Caffarelli al Campidoglio stands behind Palazzo dei Conservatori, on the southern side of the hill once occupied by the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter. To reach it, you have to walk along Via delle Tre Pile, at the end of which Piazzale Caffarelli, in front of the building, offers a view of Rome. From the belvedere, crossing a portal, you enter the Caffarelli Garden and from there the ground floor of the building; on the external corner of the building, ancient Roman bas-reliefs are reassembled, in particular the remains of the tomb of Publius Elio Gutta Calpurniano, a Roman charioteer from the 2nd century AD, discovered in the 19th century near Porta del Popolo.

Ground floor

Torlonia Marbles - Rome 20210731 113728 86

Since 2020, the ground floor has been reopened to the public as part of the Capitoline Museums dedicated to temporary specialized exhibitions, in an exhibition route that is divided into various rooms and ends by connecting to the first floor of Palazzo dei Conservatori in the area of the Temple of Jupiter and the exedra of Marcus Aurelius. The first of these exhibitions exhibited statues from the Torlonia Collection (14 October 2020 - 27 February 2022).

First floor

The oldest part of the building, improperly called ''Palazzo Clementino'' in modern times, is adjacent to the second floor of Palazzo dei Conservatori and was included in the museum itinerary at the beginning of the 21st century. This is where the ''Medagliere Capitolino'', the collection of coins, medals and jewels of the Municipality, is located. The medal collection was created following a bequest by Ludovico Stanzani in 1872 and was constituted following the interest of Augusto Castellani. Two other groups were subsequently added to the collection: one of Roman and Byzantine aurei and solidi (from the Campana collection) and one of republican denarii (from the Giulio Bignami collection). It was found during the demolitions for the construction of Via dell'Impero (now Via dei Fori Imperiali) in the home of an antique dealer who had hidden it in his own house. The treasure consisted of 17 kilos of gold, including coins and jewels. The medal collection was opened to the public in 2003. Adjacent to the medal collection are three other rooms, with the original wooden coffered ceilings and frescoed wall decorations, which arrived in precarious conditions due to the historical events of Palazzo Caffarelli and were later restored and included in the museum itinerary; in particular, the ''Sala di San Pietro'' (from the subject of one of the frescoes, a miracle performed in Jerusalem by Saint Peter). From this last room you enter the ''Hall of the Fronton'', so called because it offers a reconstruction of the terracotta decorations that originally decorated the pediment of a Roman temple from the 2nd century BC, found in Via di San Gregorio Magno al Celio, San Gregorio and reassembled here in 2002.

Second floor

The second floor of Palazzo Caffarelli - like its ground floor - is dedicated to hosting temporary exhibitions.

Centrale Montemartini

The Centrale Montemartini is a former power station of Acea (company), Acea (active as a power-station between the 1890s and 1930s) in southern Rome, between the Pyramid of Cestius and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, close to the Rome Metro, Metro station Garbatella (Rome Metro), Garbatella. Montemartini - sala caldaie e mosaico di s Bibiana 1030479-80

Montemartini - sala caldaie e mosaico di s Bibiana 1030479-80

In 1997, the Centrale Montemartini was adapted to temporarily accommodate a part of the antique sculpture collection of the Capitoline museums, at that time closed for renovation; the temporary exhibition was so appreciated that the venue was eventually converted into a permanent museum. Its permanent collection comprises 400 ancient statues, moved here during the reorganisation of the Capitoline Museums in 1997, along with tombs, busts, and mosaics. Many of them were excavated in the ancient Roman horti (e.g. the Gardens of Sallust) between the 1890s and 1930s, a fruitful period for Roman archaeology.

Gallery

References

External links

Capitoline Museums official website (English language version)
Retrieved April 26, 2010.
Capitoline Museums research website (English/German/Italian language versions)

Virtual tour of the Capitoline Museums
provided by Google Arts & Culture {{Authority control Capitoline Museums, 1471 establishments in Europe 15th century in the Papal States Archaeological museums in Lazio Articles containing video clips Art museums and galleries in Rome Capitoline Hill Michelangelo buildings Museum districts Museums of ancient Greece in Italy Museums of ancient Rome in Italy Buildings and structures completed in 1471 Museums established in the 15th century Numismatic museums in Italy Piazzas in Rome Rome Q. X Ostiense Rome R. X Campitelli

History

15th century

16th century

18th century

19th and 20th century

Treaties of Rome of 1957

21st century

Collection

Location and palaces

Palazzo dei Conservatori

Courtyard and main staircase

Piano nobile

Pinacoteca Capitolina

Main works

Palazzo Nuovo

Atrium and courtyard

Hall of Egyptian Monuments

Ground floor rooms on the right

Gallery of the Palazzo Nuovo

Hall of Doves

Cabinet of Venus

Hall of the Emperors

Hall of the Philosophers

Hall

Hall of the Faun

Hall of the Galatian

The Galleria Lapidaria and the Tabularium

Villa Caffarelli

Ground floor

First floor

Second floor

Centrale Montemartini

Gallery

See also

References

External links