Capitoline Hill

The Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio) is one of Rome’s seven hills and has been the city’s religious and political centre since antiquity. It sits above the Roman Forum and contains civic palaces and museum collections of national importance.

On the hill visitors find the trapezoidal Piazza del Campidoglio redesigned by Michelangelo in the 16th century, the Capitoline Museums with ancient Roman sculpture and Renaissance art, and civic buildings such as the Palazzo Senatorio. The museums hold collections originating from a 1471 papal donation and include famous works and Roman bronzes.

In antiquity the hill was dominated by the Temple of Jupiter and served as Rome’s religious-political heart; over centuries the site was adapted through medieval, Renaissance and modern civic uses. The modern civic complex and museum collections were assembled and refurbished across the Renaissance and later centuries.

The hill sits at the western end of the Roman Forum, central in the historic core of Rome and within easy walking distance of other major ancient sites. It provides commanding views down across the Forum and toward the Capitoline slopes.

• Museums founded: the Capitoline Museums trace their foundation to 1471 when the Papacy donated bronze statues to the city.
• Michelangelo redesign: Michelangelo's 16th-century redesign of the piazza and the palazzo facades established the hill's present ceremonial layout.

What to See #

• Piazza del Campidoglio: Michelangelo designed the trapezoidal piazza and the surrounding facades in the 1530s; the square occupies the hilltop above the Roman Forum and frames views toward the Forum and the Capitoline slopes.
• Capitoline Museums: A complex of civic palaces housing the city's collection of ancient Roman sculpture, medieval and Renaissance works; the museum institution dates to 1471 when the Papacy donated ancient bronzes to the city.
• Palazzo Senatorio: A medieval and Renaissance palace on the hill that serves as Rome's city hall and sits on the site of earlier classical buildings.
• Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo: Two palace buildings flanking the piazza that contain major antiquities and galleries of Roman and Renaissance art.