Capitoline Museums
A visit to this museum atop Capitoline hill begins with a walk up Michelangelo’s stairway, “La Cordonata” a series of low, long stairs leading to the Palazzo dei Conservatori overlooking the city.
The museum is made up of two palazzos, Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, and together they contain some of Ancient Rome’s most glorious art treasures. The space is also one of the world’s oldest public galleries, first opened in 1471 as a gift from Pope Sixtus IV, who apparently had more art than he knew what to do with. Wherever you start, leave plenty of time.
Palazzo Nuovo is packed with restored ancient sculpture. Look for portraits of everyday Greeks and Romans like the ‘Vecchio Ubriacone’ (old drunk) downstairs, and the ‘Drunken Old Woman’ upstairs, along with busts of athletes, gods, emperors, and philosophers. In the Sala dei Filosofi (Philosopher Room) a row of influential poets and thinkers includes blind master of the lyric poem, Homer. Continuing with the drunken theme is the capricious, pointy-eared mythological goat boy that inspired Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun. The 2nd-century statue in red marble also appears to have been over-served judging by the wobbly smile and wild look in his eyes.
To reach the Palazzo dei Conservatori you’ll pass through the Tabularium, an ancient Roman archive with vaults dating as far back as 78 BC. From this corridor there’s also a spectacular view of the Roman Forum.
Palazzo dei Conservatori is home to the famous She-wolf (lupa) and mythological mother of Rome. The twins suckling below her were added during the Renaissance. You’ll also find marble and frescoes spanning the centuries, from a 2nd-century AD bronze of Marcus Aurelius on horseback to a 16th-century battle scene of Hannibal and his elephant. Check out Bernini’s Medusa who seems to really suffer her frozen, marble state. Upstairs in the Pinacoteca are Caravaggio’s Saint John the Baptist, Tintoreto’s Penitent Magdalene, and Titian’s Baptism of Christ to name just a few….
Why Should I Go
You won’t find a better collection of artwork spanning so many centuries anywhere in the world.
Where
1 Piazza del Campidoglio. For information and reservations, telephone 060608. www.museicapitolini.org. Bus: 40, 60, 64 or any other Bus to Piazza Venezia.
€6.50
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