Michelangelo's square and the bronze she-wolf
The Capitoline Hill, the smallest of Rome's seven hills, was the religious heart of the ancient city, with the Temple of Jupiter. In the sixteenth century Michelangelo redesigned it as Piazza del Campidoglio, a trapezoidal square reached by a gentle ramp, the Cordonata, with a star-patterned pavement and the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius (the original is inside the museum).
The two palaces facing each other on the square house the Capitoline Museums, the oldest public museums in the world, founded in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated ancient bronzes to the people of Rome. Among the treasures are the Capitoline Wolf, symbol of the city, the original gilded bronze of Marcus Aurelius, the Dying Gaul, the colossal head of Constantine and paintings by Caravaggio and Titian.
Tip: the underground passage between the two palaces leads to the Tabularium, with a spectacular view over the Roman Forum; the café on the terrace also has a great view.
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