Capitoline Museum

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Geo: 41.8919, 12.5113

From Wikipedia:

The Capitoline Museums (Italian: Musei Capitolini) are a single museum containing a group of art and archeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, facing on the central trapezoidal piazza in a plan conceived by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536 and executed over a period of more than 400 years. The history of the museums can be traced to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated a collection of important ancient bronzes to the people of Rome and located them on the Capitoline Hill. Since then, the museums' collection has grown to include a large number of ancient Roman statues, inscriptions, and other artifacts; a collection of medieval and Renaissance art; and collections of jewels, coins, and other items. The museums are owned and operated by the municipality of Rome.

The statue of a mounted rider in the center of the piazza is of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is a copy, the original being housed on-site in the Capitoline museum.

Open to the public in 1734 under Clement XII, the Capitoline Museums are considered the first museum in the world, understood as a place where art could be enjoyed by all and not only by the owners.

From me:

This museum has been on my list of things to do in Rome for a very long time and I highly recommend it to anyone coming to this fabulous city. Plan on 3+ hours to do it justice and I recommend paying the additional 3Euros for the audio guide. It is one of the best I have used because it has storytelling as well as the facts about what you are seeing. It really enhances the experience. There is a lot to see in the two buildings that comprise this museum. For me a few of the highlights were the two Caravaggio's, the amazing original bronze sculpture of Marcus Aurelius on his horse, the two centaurs in black marble and the bust of Commodus posing as Hercules. He was the "evil" Emperor you may remember from the movie Gladiator. He really did try to battle with gladiators but, as you can imagine, he was completely inept but he always won. This is the only remaining artifact of him because he was considered so evil that all others were destroyed.

I am always fascinated by frescos and mosaics and there are plenty here to see as well.

It is also amazing to see all the different marble from all over the world used in the sculptures and some of the floors that are still original.

You really have to see this!!!

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Comments

[brendaerickson]

Again, another very informative and interesting blog on this historic site, a definite to see next time :)