The Capitoline Museums are a group of art and archaeological museums which sit astride Rome’s famous Capitoline Hill. It comprises three main buildings; the Palazzo Senatorio, Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo. The Senatorio was built in the 12th century, but was modified in the 16th century according to Michelangelo’s designs for the complex. Along with the renovation came the inauguration of the Conservatori, and the Palazzo Nuovo was added to the site in the 17th century. Also considered part of the museums complex is the Centrale Montemartini; a former power station.
The Palazzo Conservatori holds a great number of Roman, Greek and Egyptian sculpture, as well as some other forms of artwork. It houses such famous pieces as the bronze she-wolf nurturing Romulus and Remus, as well as a grand display of jewellery, frescoes, stuccos and tapestries. The Palazzo Nuovo is home to a collection of statues, inscriptions, sarcophagi, busts, mosaics and other items. Pieces worthy of particular attention include the Dying Gaul statue, a fragment of the Tabula Iliaca and the statue of Capitoline Venus. More statues adorn the Centrale Montemartini, and the Galleria Congiunzione, located beneath the Conservatori, displays an in situ ruins of 2nd century Roman housing. Other standout pieces in the museums include Bernini’s Medusa and the Colossus of Constantine.
