Capitoline Hill
At the top of Capitoline Hill you can find an amazing view of the Roman Forum. The Campidoglio, or Capitoline Hill, is rich with history. In 387 BC, when the city was raided by Celtic Gauls, Capitoline Hill was the only part of Rome not captured. In addition to its dramatic history, Capitoline Hill contains a wealth of art and architecture. In the mid-1500s, Michelangelo transformed the hilltop into a trapezoidal plaza, surrounded by three new palaces and the Cordonata staircase. The Capitoline Museums are found in Michelangelo's palazzos. These are the oldest public museums in the world and contain ancient Roman statues and coins, as well as medieval art (in the Pinacoteca gallery).

Fun Facts

• One of the hill's first structures was the Temple of Jupiter. It was here that Brutus and Caesar's other assassins fled to after committing the murder.


• The three museums are linked through an underground gallery beneath the piazza.


• The Capitonline Museums house such famous works as Bernini's Medusa, and the bronze she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus, which has become an unofficial artistic emblem of Rome.

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Capitoline Hill