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Il Campidoglio

This Italian name, Campidoglio ("cuhm-pee-DOHL-yoh"), comes from "Capitolium", the best known of the seven hills of ancient Rome, whose original name was probably Mons Tarpeius. In early Roman times important temples were built here: the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on the south west end and the Temple of Juno Monetae on the height known as Arx. The lower area between these two heights was known as Asylum, where, we are told, the founder of Rome, Romulus, gave safe haven to refugees from nearby towns.

When the city was depopulated through pestilence in during the dark ages, the Capitol maintained a small community, which used the area known as the Asylum as a market. Later, during the age of family feuding, a fortress was built into the remains of the Tabularum, a building in which Roman magistrates had held their meetings.

In ancient times, the highest part of the hill, the Arx, was where formal divinations were made. In the seventh century a monastery was built there and around 1285 a church was built here known as Santa Maria in Aracoeli ("altar of the sky"), which has a beautiful staircase leading up to it. It was by this staircase that the tribune of the people, Cola di Rienzo, was killed during his attempt to establish a Roman republic in 1354. There is a monument to mark the place of his death.

In 1536 the Farnese pope, Paul III, commissioned Michaelangelo to improve the appearance of the piazza on the hill, and Michaelangelo responded by designing a highly original piazza whose surface is covered by an intricate geometric pattern. He added a graceful ramp, known as the Cordonata, leading up to the piazza. He rebuilt the facade of the fortress built on the ruins of the Tabularum, a building that became the home of the Senate of Rome. He had the facade of the Palazzo dei Conservatori reworked and left plans for another building opposite, the Palazzo Nuovo, which was built in 1654 with a facade reflecting the Palazzo dei Conservatori. It is in this state that we see the piazza today.

The stone lions at the foot of the Cordonata come from Egypt and have been turned into fountains. In fact, there were occasions when red and white wine flowed from them! The long flight leads up to Michaelangelo's piazza with the Senatorial Palace before you. On the right is the Palazzo dei Conservatori in whose courtyard you'll find a number of interesting pieces of ancient sculpture, including a giant head of the emperor Constantine from the basilica of Maxentius. There is also a dedicatory inscription from the Arch of Claudius that celibrates the emperor's conquest of Britain in 43 CE. Across the piazza the Palazzo Nuovo houses the Capitoline Museum which features a number of beautiful and famous ancient sculptures including the "Dying Gaul". At the centre of the piazza is an equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, which is a reproduction of the one that stood here for centuries only to be removed a decade ago for restoration and preservation.

Below the double staircase of the Senatorial Palace there are two reclining statues: personifications of two rivers, the Nile and the Tiber (originally the Tigris, but reworked), both from the Baths of Constantine. In the central niche of the staircase is a seated statue of Minerva in porphyry and marble converted into the goddess of the city. Around the left corner of the Palace one can find the most famous representation of the She-Wolf suckling the twins, Romulus and Remus; this has become the symbol of the city of Rome. (Not strangely, this building houses city hall.) From both sides of the palazzo you get incredible views of the Roman Forum.

Don't forget the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which lies behind the Palazzo Nuovo. Like many churches in Rome, it houses a number of works of art.

Ian Hutchesson