Piazza del Campidoglio

Piazza del Campidoglio crowns the Capitoline Hill in Rome, the smallest of the city's seven hills and historically its most sacred. Michelangelo designed the trapezoidal piazza in 1536 at the commission of Pope Paul III, though the project was not completed until well after his death. The geometric pavement pattern, the twin palaces of the Palazzo dei Senatori and the Palazzo dei Conservatori, and the central replica of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius all follow his original vision. The square has served as the civic and ceremonial heart of Rome for centuries, overlooking the Roman Forum from its southern flank.

The palaces that frame the piazza house the Capitoline Museums, widely regarded as the oldest public museums in the world, founded in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a collection of bronze sculptures to the Roman people. Today, timed entry tickets give visitors access to an extraordinary collection spanning ancient Roman sculpture, Renaissance painting, and archaeological finds from the city itself.