The Capitol

Ascending the Cordonata you will note on the left the small statue of Cola di Rienzo, who styled himself the Tribune of the new Roman Republic, which he dreamed of re establishing in the fourteenth century all over Italy. He died an ignominious death on the spot where his XIX century statue stands. According_to tradition, he inaugurated the 122 steps of the Aracoeli in 1348. The Capitol originally had two crests; the higher one was the first citadel of the Romans, later was occupied by the temple of Juno Moneta, which housed the Roman mint; from it originated the word money. In the fifth century, on its site, rose the Church of the Aracoeli; here Augustus consulted the Tiburtine Sibyl, had a vision of the Madonna and was foretold of the coming of Christ, so he built the Aracoeli (altar of the heavens). On the other crest the temple of Jupiter was built in 510 B.C. It was the most important of the pagan sanctuaries, and with the 24 or 25 more temples built around it, the Capitol became the center of the Roman religious life, and the culminating point for triumphs. Between the crests was a hallowed spot (more or less the site occu¬pied by the present square) so that, facing the Town Hall, the central building in the square, the temple of Jupiter was on the right.

In the middle ages the Senator's Palace (Town Hall) was built as the meeting place for senators, elected after an uprising against the government of the popes in 1143; but the Senate was not recognized, and from 1358 only one Senator was appointed by the Pope, which explains the singular Senator. This institution lasted until the unification of Italy. Now the palace is the office of the Mayor of Rome. In mediaeval times this square was also used as a market place and as a place for executions. The Renaissance facade of the Senator's Palace is the work of Girolamo Rainaldi and Giacomo della Porta, XVI century. The square, as we see it now, was planned by Michelangelo in 1538 for the arrival in Rome of Emperor Charles V, who, for his victories over the infidels, was granted a triumphal procession across the Forum and the Capitol, in the style of the old Roman Emperors, but it was not finished until a century later. When Charles V arrived they had advanced as far as erecting the riding statue of Marcus Aurelius, the most famous equestrian monument of the ancient world. It originally stood near the Lateran and was believed to represent Constantine and that explains how it escaped from the turmoil of religious vandalism.

The buildings on each side of the square,house the first public collection of classic sculpture in the world. The palazzo dei Conservatori, on the right, has among the other famous masterpieces, the bronze She Wolf, and the Boy with the Thorn. In the court yard are the remains of a colossal statue of Constantine and a mutilated inscription with the word BRIT, the first four letters of the word Britannia; it is a fragment of the arch of Claudius, erected to celebrate his conquest of Britain. He was the first Roman Emperor to tread English soil, and this is the oldest reference to Britain existing in Rome. The Capitoline Museum, on the left, has the most complete collection of portraits of Roman Emperors and the famous dying Gaul. Beyond the Senator's Palace is the best vantage point from which to look at the Forum.

Rome| History| Culture| Map| Travel Tips| Arriving| Hotels| Restaurants| Borghese | The Pincio| The Spanish Steps| Campo Marzio and Pizza Navona| The Pantheon| St.Peter's Square| St Peter's Basilica Vatican Museums Courtyard of Belvedere The Stanzas The Sistine Chapel| The Ceiling| The Final Judgement| The Library| The Quirinal| Trevi Fountain Piazza Venezia| The Capitol| The Forum| The Colosseum| San Paolo fuori le Mura Santa Maria Maggiore S-Pietro in Vincoli Scala Santa and San Giovanni in Laterano| Baths of Caracalla and the Ancient Appian Way| The Catacombs| Hadrian's Villa| Villa d'Este