The Capitoline Museums
Equestrian Statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius
Housed in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, the Palazzo Nuovo and the Palazzo Caffarelli, the Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums) boast a magnificent collection of ancient Roman sculpture, including the bronze equestrian statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-80).
Plaque Recording the Donation of Four Bronze Statues by Pope Sixtus IV
The creation of the Capitoline Museums can be traced back to December 15th 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV (r. 1471-84) donated four bronze statues of great symbolic value to the city of Rome. The donation is recorded in a plaque.
Palazzo dei Conservatori
The four statues were the She-wolf, the Camillus, the Spinario and the Head of Constantine. They are all on the display in the grand glass hall known as the Exedra of Marcus Aurelius.
Capitoline Wolf
The Capitoline Wolf was long held to be an Etruscan work of the 5th century BCE. The twins, however, were added in the late fifteenth century and are thought to be the work of the Florentine sculptor Antonio Pollaiuolo (c. 1431-98).
A recent analysis of the wolf has suggested that it is not as old as once thought and may have been cast in the 11th or 12th centuries.
A recent analysis of the wolf has suggested that it is not as old as once thought and may have been cast in the 11th or 12th centuries.
Boy With Thorn (Il Spinario)
The statue of a small boy in the act of pulling a thorn (spina in Italian) from his foot is known as il Spinario. It is believed to date back to the 1st century BCE.
The Camillus
The beautiful statue of the Camillus is thought to date back to the 1st century CE. A Camillus was a male youth who assisted a priest during sacrifices to the gods. His right hand once held a small cup for ritual libations.
Bronze Head of Emperor Constantine the Great
The head, hand and globe were once part of a huge statue to the emperor Constantine the Great (r. 336-37). The head is five times life-size.
Courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori
The Colossus of Constantine
There is another colossal head of Constantine, this time in marble, on display in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori. It once formed part of an acrolithic statue, which stood in the Basilica of Maxentius in the Forum Romanum. The head, arms, legs and feet of the statue were carved out of marble, while the rest of the body was made up of a brick and wooden core, covered with gilded bronze. Judging by the size of the head, which is 2.5 m (8 ft), the seated figure would have been about 12 m (40 ft) high. The remnants of the statue were unearthed in 1486.
On the first floor is the Apartamento dei Conservatori, where we find the grand Hall of the Horatii and the Curiatii.
Hall of the Horatii and the Curatii
Bronze Statue of Pope Innocent X by Alessandro Algardi
The huge Hall of the Horatii and the Curiatii has always been the venue of important ceremonies. It was here that the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community (precursor of the European Union), was signed on March 25th 1957.
Pope Urban VIII
At either end of the hall are statues of Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44) and Pope Innocent X (r. 1644-55). The latter is the signed work of Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654), while the former is the work of Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and his studio.
Battle of the Horatii and the Curiatii
In 1595 the painter Giuseppe Cesari (1568-1640), better known as il Cavaliere d'Arpino, was commissioned to paint a new set of frescoes. The frescoes, which were painted at different periods, depict scenes from Livy's History of Rome.
In the Battle Between the Horatii and Curiatii (1612-1613), the last of the three Roman Horatii brothers is about to defeat the last of the Curiatii, three brothers from the nearby city of Alba Longa.
The fresco on the end wall depicts The Finding of the She-wolf with Romulus and Remus (1596). The shepherd Faustulus discovers the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus.
In the Battle Between the Horatii and Curiatii (1612-1613), the last of the three Roman Horatii brothers is about to defeat the last of the Curiatii, three brothers from the nearby city of Alba Longa.
The fresco on the end wall depicts The Finding of the She-wolf with Romulus and Remus (1596). The shepherd Faustulus discovers the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus.
The She-wolf with Romulus and Remus
The foundation myth of Rome is also illustrated in the panels of the wooden entrance doors (1643), the work of Giovan Battista Olivieri and Giovanni Maria Giorgetti.
Hall of Hannibal
She-wolf, Room of Hannibal
The she-wolf also appears in the centre of the wooden ceiling of the Sala di Annibale (Room of Hannibal), the oldest ceiling in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, dating back to the second decade of the 16th century.
Hannibal
The frescoes in the room depict scenes from the Punic Wars (264 - 146 BCE) and have traditionally been attributed to Jacopo Ripanda, a painter from Bologna, who was active in Rome between 1485 and 1516.
The Chapel
The Chapel
The chapel in the Palazzo dei Conservatori is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to Rome's patron saints, St Peter and St Paul. It was decorated in 1575-1578 by Jacopo Rocca and Michele Alberti, pupils of Daniele da Volterra, who in 1569 worked in the Room of the Triumphs.
Marcello Venusti (c. 1512-1579) painted the altarpiece of The Virgin Mary in Glory Between St Peter and St Paul (1577-8). In the background is an outline of the city of Rome, which the two apostles are entrusting to Mary. On the wall facing the window is a fresco which has been detached from the Palace's 15th-century loggia. It depicts the Madonna and Child With Angels, and is attributed to Andrea d'Assisi, also known as L' Ingegno (active from 1480 to 1521), a brilliant pupil of Perugino.
Marcello Venusti (c. 1512-1579) painted the altarpiece of The Virgin Mary in Glory Between St Peter and St Paul (1577-8). In the background is an outline of the city of Rome, which the two apostles are entrusting to Mary. On the wall facing the window is a fresco which has been detached from the Palace's 15th-century loggia. It depicts the Madonna and Child With Angels, and is attributed to Andrea d'Assisi, also known as L' Ingegno (active from 1480 to 1521), a brilliant pupil of Perugino.
Hall of the Tapestries
Tapestry of the Vestal Virgin Tuccia
The Room of the Tapestries was built in the 16th century, during the reign of pope Paul III (r. 1534-1549).
In the frescoes of the frieze, images of famous ancient sculptures, including the Laocoön and the Apollo Belvedere, alternate with scenes from the life of Scipio Africanus (236 -183 BCE).
Romulus and Remus Suckled by the She-wolf (det.)
The tapestries were added in the 18th century. Two of the tapestries reproduce works housed in the museum, such as Peter Paul Rubens' painting of Romulus and Remus Suckled by the She-wolf, while two tapestries depict images that exalt the civic virtues of ancient Rome, such as the story of the Vestal Virgin Tuccia and the sieve.
Hall of Triumphs
The She-wolf Suckling Romulus and Remus
The symbol of Rome can also be seen in the Sala dei Trionfi (Hall of Triumphs), home to the famous bronze bust of 'Brutus'.
The room takes its name from the frescoes on the frieze, which depict the triumph of the Roman consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus over Perseus, king of Macedon (167 BC). The frescoes, which were painted in 1569 by Michele Alberti and Jacopo Rocchetti, describe the triumph as narrated by the Greek historian Plutarch (c. 46-120 CE).
The Bust of 'Brutus'
The striking bronze bust of 'Brutus', which entered the collection in 1564, is thought to date back to the third or fourth century BCE. The identification with Junius Brutus, the first Roman consul, is without any foundation.
Palazzo Nuovo
The 17th century Palazzo Nuovo was built to complete the renovation of the Piazza del Campidoglio. The museum was opened to the public in 1734 by Pope Clement XII (r. 1730-40).
Fountain of Marforio
The courtyard of the Palazzo Nuovo is home to the celebrated statue (2nd century CE) of the river god known as Marforio, which is the centrepiece of a fountain. The fountain is surmounted by a bust of Pope Clement XII, which in turn is surmounted by a plaque commemorating the foundation of the museum.
Satyr
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Satyr
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The fountain is flanked by two antique satyrs, which may have been used in the ancient Theatre of Pompey as telamons.
Great Hall
The Great Hall on the first floor preserves its original gilded wooden ceiling, which sports the coat of arms of Pope Innocent X (r. 1644-55), who supervised the completion of the palazzo.
Coat of Arms of Pope Innocent X
At the centre of the Great Hall are five striking black marble statues.
Centaur
The figure in the centre is Hercules, who is flanked by two centaurs. The statues at either end of the hall depict Zeus and Asclepius. The two centaurs, which were unearthed at Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, are signed by Aristeas and Papias, two sculptors from the city of Aphrodisias.